


I Know I Can't Love You

by forgotten_dreams



Series: I Know I Can't Love You [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drama & Romance, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:34:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 113,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23424817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forgotten_dreams/pseuds/forgotten_dreams
Summary: Naome is new to the hidden leaf village. She spent the last two years settling in, making new friends, and building relationships. What happens now when she realizes she's falling for with two people at once? One feels like home, and the other she knows she can't love.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Original Female Character(s), Nara Shikamaru/Original Female Character(s)
Series: I Know I Can't Love You [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797991
Comments: 47
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

Footsteps enter the room, and the bed shifts slightly as he sits on the edge of the bed, jarring her from her daze. She is still recovering from the high she just felt, from the experience they had just shared together. He places a glass of water on the side table, and as she sits up to take a sip, he waits anxiously. Eventually she gets up quietly, taking his silence as a queue and begins to get dressed, knowing fully well what the expectations were. _Nothing. This all means nothing._

She barely finishes dressing herself when a quiet voice breaks the silence. 

“We can’t keep doing this.” he says, as he holds his face in his hands. “Naome, this needs to stop.”

She almost chuckled at his words. “That’s what you say but everytime-”

“No. This is the last time.” He pauses, and she can feel her heart starting to shatter again. “This is the end.”

His voice was different this time. She gathers her belongings solemnly and almost races to get out of the room. When she gets out the front door, she pauses for a brief moment, hoping he would change his mind, or say anything that would mean there’s a chance. This time, it’s over for good. She rips the door open and runs out of the apartment with tears already starting to stream down her face. 

She pauses in the middle of the village. It’s late, most of the stores are closed, and there is no where to go anymore. There’s no one that knows, no one who would understand, no one but _him._

**1 Year Earlier**

“Naome-chan! It’s time for breakfast!” The familiar voice yelled from the lower level of the house. Naome quickly finished clipping on her tool pouch onto her thigh and swung her sword over her shoulder as she ran out of her bedroom door. She donned a wide smile on her face as she practically slid into her seat at the dining table.

“Good morning auntie! Good morning uncle!” She greeted, just as Yoshino Nara set the plate of food down in front of her. “Thank you for the food!”

Naome began immediately stuffing the breakfast into her mouth as her “aunt” and “uncle” watched on with a small grin on their face. They knew both knew why she was in a rush today.

“If you don’t hurry up, you’ll miss him.” Shikaku teased with a slight smirk on his face. “He should be back any time now.” 

Scared she would be late, Naome grabbed the last piece of toast from her plate and left it hanging from her mouth as she quickly ran to put her dishes away in the sink. 

“Don’t worry about it dear,” Yoshino said, “Shikaku will clean things up, you can head out, I know you’re excited to see him.” Naome giggled as she watched her uncle freeze up at the sound of his name and chores. Regardless, he would never say no to his wife. Afterall, _women are scary_ (like father, like son.)

Bidding a quick goodbye, Naome ran out the door. The Nara clan lived on the outer ring of the village because they had to attend to the deer in the area. Therefore, in order for Naome to make it to the front game in time, she had cut through the village rather than running along the round boundaries of the enormous village. Luckily, when she got there, there were still no returning citizens to be found.

“Good morning Kotetsu-san, Izumo-san!” Naome called out to the two gatekeepers. 

“Good morning Naome-chan!” They waved, with bright smiles on their faces. Naome had grown close to the two guards despite the fact that they were older than her. Afterall, they were there two years ago when she was brought back to the village. 

Naome sat on the bench next to the registration booth, and looked up at the clouds, reminiscing. _It’s been two years already huh?_

_-2 years prior-_

Two years ago, she had woken up to the sound of an unfamiliar voice calling for her attention. “Hey! Are you alright? Wake up!”

“Do you think she’s hurt? Why would a random girl like her be out in the middle of nowhere?” A second voice chimed in.

Slowly, she willed herself to open her eyes. She squinted at first, adjusting to the sunlight that was breaking through the trees above her. Then slowly, she felt her range of motion return to her as she turned her head slightly in the direction of the voice. She tried to speak, but she barely had her voice crack through. The slight murmur was enough to get the ninja’s attention though. 

A guy with his dark hair tied back turned to look down at her. “Hey.”

“Hi,” she managed to finally whisper out. Her body was aching a bit but she regained enough strength to sit up, wincing at the pain in her legs. 

“Woah, woah! Don’t move. You don’t know if you are seriously injured.” A new, female voice spoke up. It was the first time that she realized there were more people around. A girl with long blonde hair, and a brown haired fellow that looked so worried that he might faint. Naome returned her gaze to the original male that was crouched closest to her. 

“What happened?” She asked. Her body felt like she had been run over by a boulder. Everywhere ached, but mainly, she knew she couldn’t stand. Looking around, she saw a few kunais and shuriken laying around, and her sword not far off. It then occurred to her that she had been in a fight. It all came back to her then. She was walking through the woods, travelling aimlessly as she always did, when a few ninja bandits came and attacked her. She managed to fend them off, though not by much. She had fainted in the clearing soon after. 

“Are you a shinobi?” The chubbier, brown haired one asked. “What village do you belong to?”

It was then that Naome noticed the headbands the ninja were donning. Leaf shinobi. She almost let out a sigh of relief, though her guard was still up. 

“I...kind of? And...I don’t…”

“What do you mean?” The girl with the blonde remarked. “How is that possible?”

“Well….it’s hard to explain….”

“What’s your name?” The male closest to Naome asked. 

“Naome…” They seemed to wait for her to continue her answer, but that’s just it. She did not have a family name, nor did she have a village she belonged to.

“Can you walk?” The guy asked. Naome tried to move her legs but winced in pain when she put pressure on it. She shook her head. The guy sighed, and crouched, turning his back to her almost unwillingly. He looked at her, and motioned to his back. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Everyone else was taken aback, including Naome herself. Why was this random stranger offering to help her out in the woods when she didn’t even offer her full name, or any other information about her? In fact, how could she trust them? She knew that shinobi from the leaf village were generally good people, which is why she was headed there in the first place, however, she also knew every land there could be good or bad individuals. For some reason though, he felt comfortable. 

She slowly leaned her torso onto his back and allowed her arms to dangle over the front of his shoulders. He stood up, hooking his arms around her knees, and adjusted for her weight. “Ino, grab her sword.” The blonde snapped out of her shock and quickly grabbed the sword from the ground. “Let’s go.” The male declared, as he began walking off. The other two followed closely behind.

Naome could feel herself drifting into sleep, a few minutes into the journey to who knows where, but for some odd reason, she trusted him. Just as her eyes closed, she heard the tail end of their conversation. 

“Shikamaru, are you sure about this?” The other male asked. “Maybe we should ask Asuma-sensai first.” 

“Asuma is waiting for us at the gate.” The one carrying her said. “Besides, we can’t just leave her like this.”

 _Shikamaru, so that was his name._ Naome thought, a small grin forming as she relaxed into his warmth. _Thank you._

_-Present -_

Ever since that day, the hidden leaf village had become her home. Naome had moved into the Nara residence under the suggestion of the 5th hokage because she was still recovering and needed someone to assist her in walking. She became close with Yoshino and Shikaku Nara, enough that they began loving her as a daughter (and even daughter-in-law, as they would sometimes joke), and invited her to stay permanently in their household. Two months after receiving treatment and rehabilitating, Naome had fully recovered and participated in an evaluation where she was placed as a chuunin level shinobi in the leaf’s ninja system.

This time though, it wasn’t her turn to go on a mission. She was here to pick _him_ up.

“Oh, looks like they’re here!” Kotetsu said, as he waved to the figures that were appearing from a distance. 

Naome looked up, almost unable to contain her excitement. When the figures were about 10 metres away, she ran the rest of the distance, and straight into Shikamaru’s arms. He stumbled backwards slightly at her speed but easily regained his balance. 

“Welcome home!” She said as they parted. 

“Mm.” Naome knew Shikamaru was a man of few words, especially around his colleagues, but he also smiled at her, and that was a rare but encouraging sight to see. 

“Ew you two. We just got back!” Ino groaned as she watched the two of them walking back, hand in hand. Naome and Shikamaru both chuckled, knowing that Ino didn’t really mind their interactions, but rather liked teasing them. In fact, most of the friends their age already knew about their relationship. Or at least they assumed they did. 

The truth was, there were no words to describe Naome and Shikamaru’s relationship. They had never put a label on anything. They were friends, siblings, ...lovers? The Nara family had joked many times about the two of them getting married. Would that make them fiances? There was never pressure between the two of them to put a label on what they had. They just kind of mutually understood the feelings that they had for each other. 

The team 10 squad, along with Naome, waved goodbye to Kotetsu and Izumo as they walked into the village. 

“What are your plans for today?” Naome asked the team, as they were walking through the streets. 

“I’m going to go hand in the mission report to lady Hokage.” Asuma said. He quickly bid farewell to his team, and ruffled Naome’s hair lightly before dashing off in the direction of the office. 

“Anybody want food?” Choji asked, grinning at the thought of freshly barbequed meat. After a week away from the village, only freshly grilled meat sounded like a good option to him. 

“No way, I’m going to go take a nice bath first.” Ino said. “I feel so gross from walking through the woods all these days.”

Shikamaru yawned next to Naome, already tugging her hand in the direction of his house. “Sorry Choji, next time. I just want to go to sleep in a nice comfy bed right now.” 

The team split for the rest of the day, with Shikamaru and Naome walking off to the Nara residence. By the time they were home, Shikaku was already at work. As they were walking in, Mrs. Nara was just walking out. She hugged her son, and let them know that she was going to go into town to run some errands and buy groceries for a welcome home meal. 

Shikamaru groaned, “mom, you didn’t have to make it such a big deal. I go for missions all the time.”

His mother chuckled. “I know, but you deserve something nice to eat to regain your energy again. Anyways, I’m off!” 

When they went inside, Shikamaru went upstairs to take a quick shower, and Naome grabbed him a glass of water and some snacks before bringing it upstairs to his room. She set the food on the bed side table and laid on his bed, waiting for the sound of the water to shut off. When he came out, he chugged the glass of water before laying down on the bed next to her. He threw an arm around her and moved in to cuddle, smelling the familiar scent of her, that now reminded him of home. He closed his eyes, finally relaxing again.

“How was your mission?” Naome asked, idly playing with his hair that was now let down. 

“It was-”

“A drag?” She finished. She couldn’t help but giggle. “When is it ever not a drag?”

Shikamaru peaked an eye open to look at the grinning girl in front of him. He leaned in, pressing their foreheads lightly against each other before leaning in so that their lips were barely brushing against each other. “When you’re there.”

Before she could even respond, he closed the distance, pressing his lips firmly against hers. He sucked on her lower lip as she fully wound her fingers in his hair, pulling their bodies closer together. Shikamaru started to make a move, but she stopped him, deciding to roll her body on top of his instead. Afterall, she knew how much of a lazy bum he liked to be, and decided that she wanted to spoil him instead.

After she broke the kiss, she dragged her lips along his jawline and onto the side of his neck. At the same time, she rolled her hips against his now growing bulge, earning her a frustrated moan from the male under her. 

“Naome please.” He called out. He had been away for what seemed like the longest time and his desires were making him dizzy.

Following his plead, Naome began stripping him of his attire, finally freeing the growing member that was now waiting for attention. She stared at the sight, and grasped it in her hand before leaning in to kiss him sweetly on the lips. “You know, it’s just me and you home.” She reminded him, followed by a flick of the wrist.

Shikamaru moaned, and tried once again to flip their positions but Naome held him down. He gave in, letting her have her way with him until he passed out from a mixture of exhaustion and euphoria from reaching his climax.


	2. Chapter 2

The early evening daylight shone brightly through the bedroom window, just enough to rouse Naome from her sleep. She shifted slightly to peak past the body next to her so that she could check the time on the bedside table clock. “Wow...it’s almost 5pm already.” She murmured quietly to herself. Her stomach growled, reminding her that they haven’t eaten all day since breakfast, but that didn’t matter, usually Shikamaru’s mother would have dinner on the table by 5:30 anyways.

Instead, she decided to settle back down under the covers and peak over at the male next to her. Shikamaru was sleeping soundly next to her, with little light snores filling in the silences in the room. She couldn’t help but smile, watching him sleeping so peacefully. It wasn’t a new phenomenon, rather, it was a known fact that the genius enjoyed napping whenever he had the chance, and in turn, Naome made it her own habit as well. For some reason though, she always enjoyed waking up next to him, with his arm draped lazily over her waist, making her feel warm and protected. She allowed her mind to drift off, reminiscing how this had all started.

\- Flashback -

The hidden leaf village was better than anything Naome could have imagined. The hospital staff were welcoming and extremely supportive in helping her walk again during the first two weeks in which she had to stay there. During that time, she had become particularly close to Sakura Haruno, who was her attending doctor during her recovery. Most of it was because of their similarity in age (she had learned that Shikamaru, Sakura, and the rest of their friends were merely a year younger than she was), and the hokage had asked Sakura to monitor this new visitor while she settled down in the village.

The only thing they were not able to help with though, and she discovered this during the first week of her stay, were the nightmares that kept replaying in her mind. It did not happen every night, but about three of four times a week, some worse than others. In fact, there wasn’t much the hospital staff could do. It wasn’t like Naome was placed under a genjutsu, she was simply reliving the experiences that haunted her from her past.

“Here you go! This is your room Naome-chan.” Mrs. Nara smiled warmly as she wheeled Naome into the guest room of the house. “It isn’t much, and you’ll have to share a bathroom with Shikamaru, but at least he’s right next door, so if you need something, don’t be afraid to ask.”

Naome couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by a sense of warmth, but also guilt. Not only did she trouble Shikamaru in bringing her back into the village, now his family would be stuck hosting an absolute stranger in their house, not to mention, one that could not even take care of herself. 

“Thank you Mrs. Nara.” Naome said, vowing in her mind to somehow repay this woman one day. She turned to the figure standing quietly at the door behind them. “Thank you, Shikamaru-kun.”

He gave her a look, shrugged, and turned to walk away. Naome couldn’t help but flinch at the cold gesture. He really had not paid much attention to her since she was discharged from the hospital, and when they had found out she would be living with the Nara family. Naome could hear Mrs. Nara sigh next to her. “This boy. Where did I ever go wrong in my teachings? Please forgive him Naome-chan.”

Naome turned to smile at the woman next to her. “It’s okay, Mrs. Nara. I understand.” To tell the truth, she didn’t understand. It seemed from that moment on that Shikamaru would be giving her the silent treatment, until one night, he didn’t.

It didn’t take long for the nightmares to show themselves after she had moved into the Nara residence. They ranged in anything from watching her parents getting murdered in front of her, to growing up in an orphanage in the hidden rain village, often starving and being left all alone when there were not enough supplies to go around. She had nightmares of walking endlessly through the paths of the forests that she had travelled through, sometimes getting ambushed by bandits, shinobi, or worse....

One particular night, she had woken herself up from her own screams. She shot upright and slammed a hand over her mouth, muffling her own voice so that she wouldn’t wake the family living with her. Her eyes scanned the dark room frantically, and sweat was pouring down her entire body. She felt particularly weak and vulnerable because she couldn’t yet walk, and the images she had just seen were still playing through her head. She had been so preoccupied with fighting those visions off that she couldn’t even hear the quick footsteps that were approaching her door. 

She jumped, terrified as her door swung open. The tears in her vision only allowed her to see a silhouette of the figure. Her heart was racing, and she was beginning to panic, until…

“Naome? What’s wrong?!” ...the voice gave her clarity. 

Shikamaru approached her bed, turning on a bedside light along the way. For some odd reason, seeing him and hearing his voice, helped her calm down so that at least her breathing was no longer laboured. 

“J-just a nightmare.” She reassured him. This was the first time he had spoken directly to her, and still, Naome did not want to trouble him, especially now that she had woken him up in the middle of the night. “I’m okay. Sorry...for waking you up.”

Shikamaru stared at her, almost blankly, for the next thirty seconds, only to decide, no, she was not okay. Her breathing had calmed, but her hands were still clutched tightly onto the bed sheet. Her cheeks had been stained with the streaks of tears that were running, and she still seemed to be sweating from whatever dream she was having. In fact, he was convinced that it wasn’t just a dream, but multiple, because in the week that she had been here, he could hear her rustling and quieter screams throughout several nights.

What could he do though? Never had he been this close to a girl before, nonetheless trying to help someone in this particular scenario. Would she feel uncomfortable with him? Women were so complicated… _ What a drag… _ , but for some reason, he could not leave her alone. He slowly rose to his feet, but to Naome’s surprise, he didn’t leave. He sat down next to her, on the edge of her bed.

“Go to sleep…” he said, “I’ll be right here.”

Naome was about to protest but he gave her a firm look. Giving in, she laid back into bed, and shifted over ever so slightly so that Shikamaru would have more room for him to sit. She tried to obediently close her eyes and doze off so that she wouldn’t bother Shikamaru anymore but alas, it was awkward for her to have him sitting there, waiting for her to fall asleep. Especially since he just let out a loud yawn.

“You don’t have to-”

“Shut up and go to sleep.”

“Are you going to be here the whole night?” She didn’t know why she was asking. Or what she expected as an answer. To her surprise, he didn’t even hesitate.

“If you want me to.”

Did she want him to? She really didn’t want to bother him, especially because she had heard from him a few times that women were a drag. For some reason though, she felt at ease with his presence.  _ Just for tonight,  _ she told herself, and before she knew it, she instinctively shifted over more, allowing Shikamaru to lie down next to her.

He switched off the bedside light, and Naome could see from the moonlight shining in from the window that he had shifted to face her, with his eyes closed. “Go to sleep now.” He said, letting out a single yawn, before he dozed off himself. 

Naome allowed her eyes to close as she concentrated on listening to his light snores filling the room, and for some reason, she found peaceful sleep that night for the first time in a while.

Little did the two of them know, Shikamaru’s parents were watching from outside the doorway, with wide grins on their faces. They had been woken up by the screams too, but Shikaku had held Yoshino back from dashing into the room when he saw his son inside. “Finally, he’s growing up,” he told her.

\- End flashback -

Once Naome had been able to walk again, rather than staying in her own room, she would often sleep in Shikamaru’s bed whenever she had nightmares. The bed was bigger, and they had become much closer to one another. Eventually, he had gotten so used to it that his body almost instinctively knew when she would be coming over, and would make enough space for her, even draping an arm over her waist like he was doing now, before falling back asleep.

Naome was awoken from her thoughts by a slight pressure soft lips pressed against hers. “What are you thinking about?” Shikamaru asked, with his eyes still closed. She hadn’t even realized he had already woken up from his nap. She took a quick glance at the clock before answering.

“Thinking about how we should get up now.” She replied, making a move to get up, but she couldn’t. She rolled her eyes when she knew what was happening. 

“Shikamaru, release me.” She groaned. The male next to her donned a smirk on his face as he continued casting his shadow jutsu spell that was holding her down. He did this every time he was told to get up, because he would be too lazy to move.

“No!” He protested playfully.

“C’mon, it’s 5:20 already. We need to get up and get dressed before auntie comes up.” The truth was, it had just occurred to her that they were still naked from their little “session” earlier, and without fail, Shikamaru’s mother would always be at the door at 5:30 on the dot to call the two down for dinner if they were not in the dining room already.

“What a drag.” This seemed to get Shikamaru slowly up and stretching. His parents still did not know about this aspect of their relationship, though they probably had their suspicions. Instead, they often just opted to never disturb the two’s afternoon naps, especially when they knew their son had just returned from a mission. 

They got dressed quickly and washed up a bit before heading down the stairs. 

“Oh! I was just coming to get you.” Shikamaru’s mother said as they arrived. 

Shikamaru took a seat in his usual spot while Naome helped her auntie set up the table. Shikaku glanced almost knowingly at his son, and smirked when he saw some marks along his neck. “Gone for a whole week, and came back with a couple of bug bites huh.” He remarked, just loud enough for his son to hear. 

Shikamaru tried desperately to not be phased by the words coming from his father’s mouth, but a light tint of pink began creeping onto his cheeks. “Yeah.”

Shikaku chucked. “Gotta be careful out there.”

Luckily for Shikamaru, he was saved when his mother and Naome sat at the table, and they all began to eat. 

“How was your mission Shikamaru?” His mother asked him during the meal. 

“It was a drag.” Shikamaru replied in his usual nonchalant tone.

Shikaku sighed. “You know son, you need to start taking these missions seriously. Eventually you are going to be sent on more difficult missions, or you will have to be in charge of a squad. Not to mention, when are you intending to become a jonin?”

Shikamaru shrugged, “It will happen when it happens.”

Naome couldn’t help but giggle at how defeated his parents looked when they noticed their son couldn’t care less about the conversation. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, rather, he was always pretty serious when it came to the mission at hand. He was always heavily devoted to protecting his comrades, and he always had great dreams about what he wanted the village to look like in the future. Sometimes, it was just hard for him to express that.

The family finished up the meal with some more light conversations, and Naome decided to help the family clean up. Afterwards, the two of them went up to the rooftop, a tradition for them, and laid underneath the sky, watching the final bit of the sunset, and the clouds that were passing by.

“When are you going on a mission again?” Naome asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

“I’m not sure. Lady Tsunade mentioned something about signing some documents and acting as a liaison between us and the sand. I’ll probably be heading there in a few days.” He turned around to face her. “Wanna come with me?”

She shook her head. “She told me something earlier about being assigned to a squad in a week or two.”

“A new squad?” Finally, something piqued his interest. “Did she say who will be on your team? And for what mission?”

“I’m not sure. She said we have to wait for someone to return first before she can introduce us.” Naome couldn’t help but have an excited but uneasy feeling in her chest. “It’s weird,” she said. “I’m finally going to be placed on an official team.”

Prior to this for the past year and a half, Naome had only been sent on missions with temporary team members. She was merely filling in wherever the hokage deemed necessary, usually when someone was unavailable to be part of a mission. It seemed like for the past few weeks, Tsunade had been purposely keeping her off missions, expecting that someone to return soon.

“Meh, you’ll do fine.” Shikamaru said, as he returned to looking at the sky above them. “But I guess that means you and I won’t be on the same squad for a while huh? We might not be able to see each other too often then.”

“Guess you better appreciate my company now then!” Naome cheered, breaking the solemn tension between them. She reached over and pulled Shikamaru into a death grip bear hug. “You’ll be stuck with me until you leave for your next mission.”

He groaned. “Women…so troublesome” Unbeknownst to Naome, Shikamaru was actually wearing a playful smile on his face the entire time.


	3. Chapter 3

“No~ Not again!” Naome groaned. “I hate this game!” It was another afternoon of doing virtually nothing at home. In the morning, Naome and Shikamaru had gone out to train a bit with some of their friends, but with the lack of missions lately, they had nothing to do but to return home and participate in Shikamaru’s  _ second _ favourite past time. (Second after napping of course). 

Shikamaru chuckled at the girl in front of him as he leaned back onto his two palms, watching in amusement. “C’mon. One more round, we’ll even make a bet this time to make things more interesting.”

Naome picked up a shogi piece from her side of the board, and chucked it at the grinning male sitting in front of her, watching him catch it swiftly in the air. “As if I’ll ever bet with you! I’m not playing anymore!”

Shikamaru leaned forward, setting the piece back on the board between them, and gave her a smirk. “I’ll buy you your favourite dessert if you win.”

“The dango from the other side of town?!”

“That’s the one.” He replied. Ever since Naome had arrived in the village, she fell in love with the dango store across the village. Choji had introduced her to the place, and it was a known fact that almost every week Naome would beg Shikamaru to bring her there. Of course, the lazy bum would never get up and go, which made her crave for rare moments like this. Naome narrowed her eyes at the smirking man in front of her in suspicion. Why would the lazy genius suddenly be offering this as a prize?

“And if you win…”

“If I win,” he placed his hands carefully on top of the shogi board while leaning over so that his lips were just barely brushing her ear. “If I win, you can spoil me in bed tonight.”

His words and proximity made her turn bright pink, and just as he was leaning away again, she brought a hand up and smacked him across his head. “Hell no! I’m not playing with you, you pervert!”

She was about to get up and storm her way out of the room when the two of them heard voices coming from just outside the door, in the yard. 

“Sounds like dad is back.” Shikamaru said. They both got up and began walking out to greet the elder. When they were standing on the porch, they realized Shikaku had returned with two other men. When Naome noticed who was walking towards them, she greeted them with a big smile.

“Uncle Shikaku you’re back, and Asuma-sensei as well!” She quickly closed the distance between them and gave Asuma a hug which the teacher gladly returned. Ever since Naome came to the village, Asuma had basically treated her like his very own student, often helping her train even though she was not originally on his team. During their early days training together, Asuma realized that apart from Naome’s affinity to water release, she also had potential to wind release techniques, and he personally took it upon himself to help her develop it to the best of his abilities.

It took a moment for Naome to realize she had not yet greeted the stranger that was standing with her uncle and sensei. When she parted from Asuma, she peaked behind him to find a silver-haired ninja with a mask covering the lower half of his face. She had seen him around the village before, often talking to Sakura or Asuma, but never had she been formally introduced to the older shinobi. 

Something about seeing him up close for the first time made her lose focus on the world around her. She started noticing more details about him. He was a bit taller than she remembered, especially now that he was standing only about two meters away. He was lean, but she could tell from the way his black underlayers hugged his arms that his arms and shoulders were still toned. He was a bit older, and though she could estimate him to be around his mid-20s, he looked as if he had been through some tougher times in his life.

“Oh yes! The two of you have never met before.” Asuma said as he stepped to the side and gestured towards the silver-haired shinobi. “This is Kakashi Hatake. He’s one of the jonin in the village. He’s Sakura-chan’s sensei.”

_ Kakashi Hatake huh? _ She thought. She had definitely heard the name around town before, but often he was spoken so highly of, that she imagined he would be a middle aged man, someone more experienced, not someone so...young.

Shaking herself of her daze, Naome held out her hand to Kakashi and smiled, “Nice to meet you! My name is Naome.”

“Nice to meet you too Naome-chan!” Kakashi took her hand in his, a smile visible through the wrinkles next to his eyes, rather than his lips that were concealed by his mask. Naome was so in awe of the figure in front of her that she almost forgot to let go of his hand after. She retreated her hand, sticking it awkwardly in her pocket before taking a few steps back to stand next to Shikamaru.

“You’re home late today.” Shikamaru said to his dad. It had been about 2 hours past Shikaku’s usual arrival home. 

“Why? Did you miss me?” His father teased, ruffling his son’s hair a bit, to which Shikamaru dodged out of the way. Shikamaru turned on his heels to face his back to the party and started walking away.

“No, I was just hungry,” he said, “let’s go, mom is waiting for us for dinner. Oh, and she mentioned we would have visitors as well, Asuma-sensei, Kakashi-sensei.”

With that, Shikamaru walked away, in the direction of the dining room, and Naome quickly caught up to him. This left the three older men to slowly follow after the teenagers. When they arrived in the dining room, Shikamaru’s mother had just finished setting the table with two extra seats. She greeted her husband when he walked in, and then turned to face the other two shinobi. “I knew it would be you two. Come, don’t be shy! There’s plenty of food!”

“Oh, you didn’t have to, Yoshino-san. We were just heading out.” Kakashi said, but Yoshino had already begun dragging the two jonin to the table. 

“I insist!” She said, forcing them to sit. “Besides, unless you two each have a lovely girlfriend waiting for you at home, I doubt you are ever eating anything healthy anyways. You’re always so busy! Have some home cooked food for once."

“She’s right y’know, Kakashi. You’re not getting any younger.” Asuma teased. Naome had caught on to the other meaning behind his speech.

“Asuma-sensei, you mean you have a girlfriend? Who is it?”

Asuma winked at the curious girl across the table. “A secret.”

Shikamaru scoffed and murmured under his breath, “It’s hardly a secret.”

“Anyways, thank you for the food!” Asuma said before digging in. Everybody else followed soon after. 

“So, Asuma-sensei,” Naome said, during the middle of the light conversations that were going around the table, “when do you have time to start training again? It’s been so long! I want to learn a new jutsu.”

Asuma sighed, “unfortunately I can’t this time Naome-chan. I have to go on a mission again tomorrow morning. Maybe next time...or…,” he eyed the silver-haired man sitting next to him who swallowed and stared back at him, “Kakashi could help you!”

“What kind of training?” Kakashi asked. “I should have time until Naruto and Jiraiya come back.”

“She’s starting to learn some intermediate wind release jutsus.” Asuma said, “I already taught her the basics.”

“Wait….” Shikamaru spoke up, interrupting the conversation in an uncharacteristic fashion, “Kakashi-sensei, did you just say that Naruto would be returning soon?”

Kakashi nodded.

“Wow,” Shikamaru seemed to be almost dazing off in thought, “it’s been almost two years since he left, I wonder how he’s doing.”

Naome was confused. Naruto was another name she had heard from time to time, but she did not know anything about this figure, or why he was so important to her friends. Shikamaru spoke highly of him, and Sakura seemed to always be reminiscing something about him, but Naome had never really learned details about who he was other than he was a year younger than her.

“Who is Naruto?” She asked, looking around the table. Her eyes settled on the masked ninja who winked at her.

“You’ll get to meet him soon.”

For some reason, the wink he gave her made her freeze, and her cheeks blush. She knew it wasn’t a flirtatious gesture, more of a teasing one, but still she couldn’t get it out of her mind. She almost didn’t know what to say, so she just settled with a quiet, “oh...okay.”

With that, the conversation shifted to Asuma’s upcoming mission, and some topics that Tsunade had brought up in the meeting they had just returned home from. Shikamaru was interested for once, listening to the politics behind the way the village was operating, while Naome zoned out. She would hear some words of the conversation from time to time, but her thoughts drifted off to the copycat ninja sitting across from her, and the gesture that he had just made. 

She didn’t know why she was so attracted to the man sitting in front of her. She often caught herself taking glimpses of him as she pretended to be following along with the conversation.What confused her even more was why she couldn’t get the scene out of her mind. Finally, after a few minutes, she accepted with humiliation, the dreaded school girl crush she must have had on the shinobi she had just met. The good thing was, she was a bit older now, so she was able to force her mind off the ridiculousness that just happened, and returned to reality.

Naome distracted herself by cleaning up the table as the grown ups and Shikamaru talked about their politics. She quickly, and diligently washed the dishes, refraining her mind from wandering off once again. A silly school girl crush, she reminded herself.

It wasn’t long after that the two jonins excused themselves from the Nara residence, afterall, Asuma had to wake up early the next day for his mission. Naome let out a small breath of relief as she watched the backs of the two teachers walking further down the road. She felt a pair of arms sneak around her waist from behind. “So, another round of Shogi?”

Naome groaned and broke free from his grasp. “I’m gonna help auntie clean up. Go play Shogi with your dad. I’m not playing with you anymore.”

Shikamaru chuckled. “Sore loser.”

\---

The morning light shone in from the window, and the birds chirped from the trees around them. Naome rose from her sleep. Still laying down, she stretched out on the large bed before turning to her side, where Shikamaru still slept peacefully.  _ I can get used to this _ , she couldn’t help but think, with a smile creeping on her face. The thing is, she  _ was _ used to it. Her bed had been left untouched except when Shikamaru was away on a mission. It was just so routine now to get ready for bed together, and go to sleep together every night. Neither of them had really thought twice about it. 

She took a glimpse at the time. It was almost breakfast time, so she decided to get up and get ready for the day, leaving a still snoring Shikamaru on the large bed. She didn’t want to wake him, knowing how much he loved his sleep. 

Naome stepped into the shower and allowed the warm water to stream over her like a warm blanket. As she washed up, she couldn’t help but look at each and every one of her scars again. There weren’t any new ones, thank God, but some of the ones that were there ran deep. She almost detested the way they looked on her skin, and more importantly, she detested the past that came along with them. 

_ Speaking of scars... _ her mind drifted off to the masked ninja she had met just the day before,  _ I wonder if that’s what’s under the mask of his. _ She was sure, with experienced shinobi, came the scars of the battles they fought to gain them. What was his story?

She sighed, and quickly finished up her shower. She got dressed and headed back to Shikamaru’s room to wake the genius up. To her surprise, he was already sitting up in bed and yawning. When he made eye contact with her, he pouted, “you left me!”

“No, I wanted to give you more time to sleep.” Naome replied as she walked up to him. “Now get up, auntie is going to call us down soon for breakfast.”

He sighed exasperatedly, and threw the covers aside. Slowly he got off the bed. “Women are so naggy.”

“Well excuse me. Maybe next time I will wake you up then!” Naome’s words were cut short by Shikamaru pulling her into a quick hug before planting a sweet kiss on her forehead. Without another word, he walked out of the room, leaving a stunned kunoichi standing next to the bed. A smile crept on her face as she made the bed and headed downstairs just in time to help set up breakfast.

Shikamaru and his father came into the dining room at the same time, but dressed in their training gear, and ready for the day. 

As they were eating, Shikaku seemed to remember something. “Oh yes, Naome-chan.”

“Yes uncle?”

“I forgot to tell you yesterday, but later this morning, you will be needed at the Hokage’s office,” he said. Naome’s heart skipped a beat. Was it finally time for her to meet her new team and go on a mission? She couldn’t think of another reason that lady hokage herself would be calling her to the office. 

“Oh...okay, what time?” 

“Around 10 o’clock,” he said, “sorry it’s so last minute, the hokage just sent us the message this morning. She said your new teammate is back.”

“It’s okay!” she insisted, but something about the way her voice quivered a bit, made Shikamaru glance over at her. He sighed and took her hand under the table as he continued eating with the other one. 

“Don’t worry about it too much.” He said. Somehow, even though the words he said were so simple, Naome did feel a little at ease. They finished up their breakfast, and Naome quickly headed upstairs to grab her ninja tools and her short sword before her and Shikamaru headed out. 

The two walked side by side to the training grounds where Shikamaru was going to meet his teammates. Naome had some time to spare so she dropped her friend off there, and said hi to Ino and Choji, before she started the long walk to the hokage’s office by herself. 

When she arrived, the hokage’s assistants brought her up to the office. She knocked, and stood nervously behind the door as she waited for an answer. 

“Come in!” The familiar voice called. Her hands shook as she twisted the handle, and opened it to reveal the Tsunade, Shizune, Sakura, an old looking man with white hair, and another blonde shinobi around her age. She almost let out a sigh of relief when she saw Sakura standing in the room, at least it was someone she knew, but then her breath caught in her throat when she noticed an all too familiar figure in the room: 

_ Kakashi Hatake _ .


	4. Chapter 4

Naome couldn’t help but stare at the figure in front of her. It must have been some kind of cruel, yet wonderful dream that she was still part of right? Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe Kakashi Hatake, the man that she suddenly developed a crush on, was not suddenly standing in front of her, being introduced as her upcoming sensei and squad leader. Secretly though, she hoped that he was.

“Naome-chan! You’re just in time!” Tsunade greeted her from her desk, with a familiar warm smile on her face.

“Eh? Who’s this?” Naome jumped back slightly as the blonde, male ninja came dangerously close to the front of her face as he examined her excitedly. “I’ve never seen you around before! Nice to meet you! I’m Naruto Uzumaki! And you are…”

Naome took a small step back, a little overwhelmed but the sudden attention placed on her. “Naome.”

“Naome….”

“Just Naome,” she replied. She had never really known her parents, and had grown up with no one special in her life, therefore, she never adopted a family name for herself.

“Huh...well okay then.” Naruto seemed confused. Suddenly, he was grabbed by the back of his sweatshirt and pulled away from the stunned girl. Naome turned to look at Sakura, as she lectured the poor boy on the importance of personal space and not being so disrespectful. Naome shot Sakura a grateful look before she returned her attention to the hokage at the front of the room.

“You summoned me, my lady?"

Tsunade stood and came around to the front of the desk. She gestured towards the other shinobi in the room. “Naruto has returned from his training now, so I thought it would be a good time to introduce you to them as the newest member of their squad. This is team 7. You will mostly be completing missions with them for the time being, unless there is a need for accommodation based on the future missions.”

“Naome, let me introduce you!” Sakura said, pulling her over to the blushing Naruto. “This is Naruto. I apologize for his behaviour. He’s a total dumbass some times.” 

Naome giggled as Naruto called out in protest, “Aww c’mon Sakura, don’t describe me like that!” 

She extended her hand to the amusing ninja in front of her. “Nice to finally meet you Naruto. I’m Naome. I’m looking forward to working with you and Sakura!” He took her hand with a wide smile on his face before Sakura pulled her away again to the older figure with long white hair.

“This is-”

“Hello pretty lady!” He said, already sticking his hand out towards her. “I am the great toad sage...Jiraiya!” 

Naome shook his hand with a sheepish grin. She was dragged off again, only to stop in front of a certain silver-haired jonin that made her heart skip a beat. “This is Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura said, “he’s the one that trained Naruto and I before. He’s going to be our team leader from now on.”

“Nice to see you again, Naome-chan.” His smile made her stomach flutter a bit. 

“Nice to see you too, sensei. Thank you for having me on your team.” Naome replied. Sakura was confused at first about when the two of them had met each other, but then she shrugged it off. It had been two years already since Naome came into the village. Perhaps they had met through mutual contacts, or even just coincidentally on the street.

“Well, now that you all know each other, I suppose we need to put your new team to the test before we can make it official.” Tsunade said, “I hope you’re not too tired from your journey back, Naruto.”

“No way, granny! I’m ready whenever you are! What is this test of yours anyways?” Naruto replied. 

“You three, will be fighting against your sensei, Kakashi.”

\---

Naome glanced around nervously at the training grounds around her. She had been there before, but definitely not enough times to know the area inside out. She knew there was a river that ran next to the clearing. Three log posts stood in the middle of the grass, and the rest of the area was surrounded by darker trees. The team had convened there after lunch, along with Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraiya, and never had Naome felt so nervous being a shinobi before. Now she had to deal with eyes evaluating her, working together with her new teammates, and fighting a jonin that she had never even seen the abilities of before.

“Your goal,” Kakashi explained once they arrived, “is to grab these three bells from me, using whatever taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu you want.”

“This again?” Naome heard Naruto call out to their sensei that was standing just across from them in the clearing. “You don’t think we’ll fall for that measly trick again Kakashi-sensei. We aren’t kids you know.”

“We’ll see about that.” Kakashi grinned. Naome stared in awe. Could he really defend against the three of them? There was no way! Even though she had never seen Naruto’s abilities before, she had still seen some of Sakura’s. There’s no way that he alone could fight against 3 chuunin level ninjas.

“Let’s do this!” Naome gasped as Naruto charged face first towards Kakashi, “shadow clone jutsu!”

Naruto came out with another copy of himself which he quickly transformed into a giant rasengan. He was about to throw the weapon at Kakashi when suddenly, Kakashi appeared behind him and had him trapped. The older man kept one arm holding back Naruto’s throwing arm, and another hand anchored at the back of Naruto’s head. 

“Gotcha!” To Naome’s surprised it was Naruto who made the remark. Looking again at the scenario, she found another one of Naruto’s clones behind Kakashi, with a kunai pointed at his back. 

Kakashi shook his head. “Naruto, you’re still as impatient as ever. I didn’t even say start yet. Now, let’s try this again. Ready...start!”

Suddenly, there was a poof of smoke, and the silver-haired shinobi was gone.

Sakura groaned, “Naruto, you’re always like this. Now where did he go?”

Both Naome and Sakura scanned the clearing. He could have gone to various places, hiding behind the trees, watching above them, or even...Naome watched as Sakura seemed to catch on at the same time that she did. Sakura pulled her arm back, a fist forming in the air, before slamming it into the ground, cracking the Earth into large fissures below them. Naome had to hop back from the middle of the clearing to avoid the damage. She couldn’t help but be amazed by the sheer amount of strength that the medical ninja had. Naome knew she was strong, but not  _ that _ strong.

All three of them barely caught a glimpse of the copycat ninja before he disappeared again. Naome gasped, as one of her arms was suddenly twisted back, with her back pressing against a taller body. She froze when she felt the cold blade of a kunai resting against her jugular. It all happened so fast, and she had never expected him to strike so quickly.

“Naome!” Sakura screamed.

“Kakashi-sensei, you’re going too far!” Naruto yelled, “let go of her.”

“What are you going to do now?” Naome shivered as she felt every vibration of Kakashi’s voice rumbling in his chest. “I thought I taught you guys to work together, as a team.”

Naome suddenly felt solemn, thinking about how she had already become a liability to the team. She had let her guard down. If this were a real life scenario, she would have already been dead by now. However, because she wasn’t, she knew she had to prove her strength to them and free herself from the shinobi’s grip. 

“You better listen to him, sensei,” Naome warned, a sudden level of confidence returned to her, knowing exactly how she can get herself out of this situation. She focused her chakra into both her free hand, and the one that was being grasped and twisted by Kakashi. Afterwards, she formed a pistol-like shape with her index finger and thumb of both hands, and pressed the tip of the “guns” against Kakashi’s torso. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

“Trust me, you won’t.” Kakashi said. Naome almost melted at his level of confidence but she focused on the mission at hand and held her resolve.

“In that case...water style: water gun jutsu!” A very quick and sharp burst of water fired out of Naome’s index finger tips, piercing through the body behind her. She was worried at first. She couldn’t see behind her so she had no idea if she would be shooting any of her sensei’s vitals. Luckily for her, it was a clone, and Kakashi disappeared as soon as the water bullets shot through the clone’s body.

Naome sighed in relief as her body fell forward. Once she was released by the clone, the kunai fell with her. She grabbed it quickly, just in case, so that she was able to defend herself. 

“Now, now Naome-chan, that wasn’t very nice.” Kakashi’s voice called out from the trees behind her. He was standing on one of the branches, watching the entire time. Naome was worried, she knew she shouldn’t be using such a lethal technique, and at such a close range for a sparring match of all things, but in the moment, she couldn’t think of another option. Besides, she trusted Kakashi when he told her that she wouldn’t be able to hurt him.

“Naome,” instantly, Sakura was at her side, “come, we have to go hide, and think of a strategy.”

Sakura quickly threw an arm around Naome’s body to support her, and they disappeared along with Naruto into a deeper part of the woods. Naome was still recovering a bit from shock when they began discussing possible strategies to take down their sensei. They didn’t have much time as they knew Kakashi could be hiding from them, and listening in at any time. 

Naome watched in awe as her two teammates discussed amongst each other diligently. Naruto, who she thought was just a goofball, was actually serious about this mission as well.

“Okay, so I can definitely distract him. If we distract Kakashi-sensei enough, we should be able to get the bells right?” Naruto said, “I can just bombard him with 50 shadow clones!”

“I think that will definitely tire him out for sure,” Sakura added, “but the thing is, I don’t think there is anything we can do if he just uses a substitution and clones himself every time.” 

“What if we trap his real body once we find it?” Naome wondered. “The only issue is, how do we know when we have the real him?” 

“We’ll bring him out of hiding.” Sakura said confidently, as she tugged on the glove of her right hand. “I got a lot more where that one came from.”

“Okay,” Naruto said, “So I will tire him out with the shadow clones, and so that he loses concentration. After that, he should have no chakra to produce any more shadow clones. Then, Sakura will bring him out of hiding by using that freakish strength of hers-”

“Hey!” Sakura protested, but Naruto cut her off again.

“How do we hold him still enough that we can grab the bells?”

“I can do it.” Naome said. “I’ve learned how to use a water prison technique in the past. I can trap him inside a bubble of water long enough that we can grab the bells from him. The thing is though...I need to be in the water.”

“We can bait him to the river.” Sakura said, “if we keep pushing him that way as we fight, we should be able to get him there.”

“Okay let’s try it.”

\---

Kakashi was hiding in the woods not too far from where the younger shinobi were plotting their attack against him. He didn’t want to tell them that he heard their entire plan, but really he had. He was proud of them, however, for being able to team up with the newcomer, and for their level headedness.  _ They’re all grown up now, _ he thought. No longer were they the same gullible children from the past.

Sighing, he stood up and put his Makeout Tactics book back in his pocket. It’s about time they found his whereabouts, and he didn’t want to be caught unprepared. Afterall, this time, his team was a lot deadlier than before. He flinched at the thought of being caught in one of Sakura’s deadly punches, or even worse...the feeling of having a bullet shot through him. There were drawbacks to the technique of course. In a situation where there is not enough water nearby, the user had to be able to gather not only chakra, but enough water from their own body (such as sweat) to produce the bullet. Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows in wonder. How on Earth did that girl even learn such an advanced and deadly jutsu? 

“Hey Kakashi-sensei! Wake up!” Kakashi jumped at the sudden sound, and looked up to find Naruto coming from behind him. “A thousand years of pain!”

Widening his eyes, Kakashi barely staggered out of the way, saving his buttocks from what would have been days of unfathomable pain.

“Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Suddenly Kakashi was surrounded by what seemed like at least 100 shadow clones around him. They were hidden in the trees, hanging on branches, and scattered throughout the grass. Immediately, they all charged at him, and began fighting them off one at a time.He threw them over his shoulder, punched, kicked, and eventually, he was down to one Naruto. 

“As expected of our Kakashi-sensei. Quick as ever.” Naruto said, but before Kakashi could even react, Sakura came flying out from the trees and slammed the ground with her fist. This caused the Earth to split into giant blocks, and most of the trees surrounding it to uproot or tilt over.

Kakashi quickly ran out in the opposite direction of the rippling Earth beneath him, forcing him to, once again, show himself in the clearing. He skidded to a stop, right at the edge of the river, careful not to let himself fall into their plan.

He watched as the three shinobi appeared in front of him, surrounding him so that the only way he could go was the water. Quickly, he began to weave hand signs at a speed that no one present could keep up with. “Fire style: Fireball jutsu!”

Kakashi sent the fire ball blazing down the middle of the clearing, burning all the grass in its path. Quickly, the team scattered, but as soon as the smoke cleared, Naruto appeared again, running with another shadow clone towards the copycat ninja. As he was dashing toward him, Naome and Sakura were keeping a steady eye on their sensei to make sure that the real him was still there. 

Both of them jumped out and threw shuriken at Kakashi from either side. He had no choice but to dodge. The problem was, if he jumped up, Naruto could probably knock him into the water, so he quickly began making hand signs for his Earth style jutsu.

“Oh no you don’t,” Sakura yelled, as she landed and punched the ground for the third time, shattering the land under their feet. At that point Naruto had caught up to Kakashi already and pushed him into the river. 

Naome quickly dashed into the river, the chakra in her feet carrying her as she ran across the water. She knew she had to act quick or the whole plot would be ruined so she performed her hand signs as she went. She casted her jutsu just as Kakashi’s feet landed on the water, “Water style: Water Prison Jutsu!”

A large orb of water suddenly surrounded Kakashi’s body. The orb was attached to Naome’s left hand, as she had to remain there in order to keep casting it. Kakashi could feel his chakra very slowly start to slip away. And as quick as the fight had started, it had ended….or so they thought. While Kakashi was still able to move, he began charging up his lightning style technique.

“You better let go of me now,” he said, “I wouldn’t want to hurt you.” It was a perfect imitation to Naome’s tone earlier. Their eyes met briefly, and Naome could tell he was teasing her from what she said when he had her trapped.

When the kunoichi refused, his lightning grew bigger, “Lightning style: lightning blade!”

Kakashi’s lightning blade began piercing through the wall of the water prison. It was a simple concept of nature and its elements. Water techniques had a natural weakness to lightning techniques. When Naome could feel the electrical current starting to ripple through the water, she had to let go of the sphere, or she would be electrocuted. Too late.

She tried to jump away, but the entire river now had a strong current of electricity, and her body had been shocked. Kakashi quickly caught her and brought her to the dry land. Naome’s world stopped for a second when she realized the proximity of her sensei’s face to her’s. It had all happened so quickly, she didn’t even know what was happening. Somehow, she was now in her sensei’s arms, staring intently into his eyes. He grinned down at her, “I told you to let go, didn’t I?” 

“Naome! Are you alright?” Sakura called, as she started running up to them. Then Naome remembered:  _ Right! The mission at hand! _

Using the close proximity she had to her sensei, she quickly reached down and grabbed the three bells that were attached to his hip. In a swift motion, she tossed one to Sakura and one to Naruto. She held up her own and smiled at the man who stared down, dumbfounded at her actions. “Looks like we won, sensei!”

“Wow! What a show!” The great lord toad’s voice boomed, interrupting the scene. The entire team turned to look at Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune, who had just reappeared into the clearing again. The worn out team barely remembered that there was an audience watching them the entire time. 

“You all have improved so much.” Tsunade said as they approached the younger shinobi. “Naruto, you’re still as diligent and quirky as ever. Sakura, it seems I have trained you well, and Naome, it seems like you will be a great fit for this team. What do you think, Kakashi?”

Naome, noticing the awkward position the Hokage had just found them in, scrambled quickly to her feet. Kakashi stood as well. He slumped over, finally being worn out after fighting the three of them all afternoon.

“I think they will be just great.” Kakashi threw out a very genuine smile. Though he was still unsure about the past of his new student, she was strong willed and had talent. 

“If that’s the case, I officially declare that Naome, Sakura, and Naruto - the three of you, will officially be called team Kakashi. You will be a permanent team now, and go on missions together under the guidance of your former sensei.” Tsunade said.

“Thank you my lady!” The three shinobi bowed deeply, and then looked up to each other. Whatever doubts were in Naome’s mind, they were all gone now. She was beginning to find her place on this team.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Naome got up excitedly for her first day of training. It would be the first day they got to officially train as a team, and judging from the challenge the day before, Naome had a good feeling about her new teammates and new sensei. Her morning energy, as she ran around getting ready, woke Shikamaru from his sleep as well. He sighed, before getting ready for the day as well.

Naome had gotten ready so early that when she made it downstairs for breakfast, she actually had time to help Shikamaru’s mother prepare.

“Someone’s excited today.” Yoshino giggled as she watched Naome skip around the kitchen. 

“Mhmm!” Naome said, as she grabbed some of the food and started moving it over to the table. “It’s been a while since I got some real training done. Hopefully I get to learn a new jutsu today!”

“Oh? And training with me is not real training?” Shikaku questioned from the dining table. Naome smiled sheepishly at the older ninja, and walked over to give him a hug which caused him to blush. 

“Oh you know I appreciate everything you do for me, uncle.”

Shikaku cleared his throat. “I’m just kidding with you. Kakashi is a very talented shinobi. He used to be part of the anbu forces too. You’ll be able to learn many things from him.”

“Wow. Anbu forces huh?” Naome thought back to the way her sensei was fighting the day before. He held up almost perfectly against the team, and still there must have been so much more that she wasn’t able to see during that fight.

“Shikamaru! Breakfast is ready!” Mrs. Nara called, entering the room with the final dishes. 

“Yeah, yeah, mom. I’m right here, you don’t need to yell.” Shikamaru said as he walked in and took a seat. “Someone didn’t wait for me today.”

Naome giggled and gave Shikamaru a peck on the cheek before she sat down next to him. “Sorry, I was busy getting ready.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure.” Shikamaru said nonchalantly, however, he had to try his best to hide his smile. 

\---

Naome arrived at the shattered training grounds with 5 minutes to spare. It was then that she realized how much damage they had done to the area from the night before. Just three of Sakura’s punches into the ground, had several trees up rooted and fissures throughout the soil. A large trail was dug between the river and the woods from Kakashi’s fireball jutsu.

“Naome-chan!” Sakura and Naruto appeared a few minutes after Naome arrived. “Good morning!”

“Good morning!” Naome replied. The three of them spent some time cleaning up the clearing of the rubble and shuriken left behind. Afterwards, they tried to fix the terrain as much as they could. Before they knew it, half an hour had already passed before a voice stopped them in their tracks.

“Wow! Everyone is working so diligently!” Kakashi called, as he strolled into the edge of the clearing. 

“Kakashi-sensei! You’re late again! You never change, do you?” Naruto yelled, pointing a finger in his sensei’s face.    


“Sorry. I’m afraid I got lost on the path of life.” Naome stared in awe at the silver-haired man in front of her. How could he manage to come up with such a meaningless excuse and still carry a smile on his face? Never had she been so appalled. She had never had a sensei before that would show up over half an hour late without rhyme or reason.

Sakura seemed to have the same sentimentality as her. “Stop it with your lame excuses!”

“Well anyways,” Kakashi yawned as he leaned back against a tree on the edge of the clearing. “Today, you guys are going to do some light self-training on chakra control. Naruto, you have definitely improved so much in the two years that you were away, but I still believe that you need to improve your focus on your chakra more. Eventually, I want you to be able to do the Rasengan without using a clone.”

“Sakura,” he continued, “your strength definitely helped your team win yesterday, however, look around you, there is just so much chaos around. Today, I want you to begin pinpointing that chakra so that not only will it make your attack more direct and less damaging to the environment, but it can help you focus the strength on a single target.”

“Naome,” he said, “you will be working on controlling your chakra for your water prison jutsu. While it is a good barrier, it’s not quite effective enough yet in draining chakra. Each second you have your enemy in the bubble is very valuable. You need to be able to drain them and demobilize them before they can come up with a counter attack. So get to work guys! I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

The team separated into different areas. Sakura headed to the woods so that she could find a safe place to try to control her wreaking havoc. Naruto simply stood in the middle of the clearing, already getting frustrated that he had to do this whole gathering and shaping chakra drill again. Naome sighed as she walked defeatedly over to the river. She had been hoping to learn something new. New tactics, team drills, or even some new wind jutsus, but alas, everyone was stuck doing their own thing and nothing was new.

Naome stepped onto the water and began drawing water up to create her sphere. As she was building her prison, she tried to make sure it was refined so that the barriers were strong enough that physically, no one could break through. It seemed impossible though, to bring it to the next step and drain chakra, if there was no source of chakra to be drained.

She began focusing her own chakra around the sphere so that she could cover the entire surface area of the orb. She hoped that not only did completing that help reinforce the prison, but it also helped to feel the hypothetical draining of chakra.

It didn’t take her long to upgrade the move a little bit, and she had made it an effort after, to complete the reinforcing task as quickly as possible after the orb was formed. Less than an hour had passed since she was standing on water working on the prison jutsu. Honestly, she felt as if she had mastered it, and was getting extremely bored. 

Naruto and Sakura had already moved on to their own thing, a little light sparring. Meanwhile, Kakashi hadn’t moved from his spot underneath the tree. The book in his hand kept him preoccupied for the longest time, and because Naome was bored with practicing her water prison, she decided it would be the perfect time to approach her teacher.

“Kakashi-sensei,” she called as she walked up onto shore, and towards the older man, “I’m done practicing the water prison jutsu. Can you teach me a new jutsu? Maybe a wind jutsu?”

She was almost positive he would say yes, afterall, Asuma had already brought this up to him in the past, and he had said yes. Now that she thought about it, Asuma must have already known that Kakashi would end up being her team leader.

“Not right now.” 

Naome stopped in her tracks, shocked at what she had heard. Not right now? She narrowed her eyes at the book in her sensei’s hand, the object that had been preoccupying him this whole time. “Why not?” 

He glanced at her for a second before returning to the book, “because you’re not ready for wind jutsus.”

“Excuse me?” She couldn’t hide the offended tone in her voice. She cleared her throat and tried to reason with him another time. “Kakashi-sensei, Asuma-sensei already began teaching me wind style techniques for the past few months already. He thinks I am ready for more advanced techniques now.”

“And I, as your sensei, think you are not.” He answered again. 

Naome walked up, face to face with her sensei now. She was beginning to get frustrated, but she didn’t want to do it at a distance so that the others could hear her. “Sensei, I am ready. I’m not weak you know.”

“I never said you were.”

“So what is it that you want me to do then? You keep asking me to do this stupid water prison jutsu that I had known how to do since I was 12! Not to mention, you’re not even helping me with it. I just want to learn another technique so that I can be more versatile!”

“I’d prefer it if you are a master at a few than to be wasting your training time dabbling in other techniques.”

It took all of Naome’s willpower to stop her from disrespecting her sensei right now. She wanted to simultaneously swear and throw a temper tantrum. He was not listening! “Is it that you don’t want to help me? Or do you not know how to help me? Are you even a wind release user?”

“I am,” he replied in a matter of factly tone. “I just don't think you're ready.”

“I am!”

Kakashi peaked at her from over his book again. “Then show me.”

Naome didn’t need to be asked twice. He wanted to see that she was strong? She would prove to him that she was strong. Not to mention, she was beyond frustrated at him now. Backing up a few steps, she bowed on her own before she quickly dashed towards her sensei, sending a fist straight at his face. 

He dodged it, of course, by tilting his head to the side. When the fist made impact with the tree behind him, there was a sickening cracking sound as the tree slowly gave way and began to fall. Both Kakashi and Naome jumped back before it came crashing to the ground. 

Naome ran at him again, throwing a kick followed by another punch, both of which he blocked and sidestepped. The entire time Naome was throwing attacks at him, he was just barely dodging them while keeping his eyes fixed on the book in his hand. He kept hopping backwards, out of her reach while she was advancing.

Kakashi had to admit, sparring with her wasn’t as easy as he had planned. Even though he pretended to be reading, the attacks had begun to get quicker, and he had long forgotten what the page was even about. Naome was quick, so quick that he was considering pulling up the headband to activate his Sharingan, but alas, he didn’t want to admit that he was wrong about her. 

The two of them could feel Naruto and Sakura’s gaze following them as they continued sparring. Naome threw another punch at Kakashi’s face, and he barely sidestepped it. He felt the wind fly straight past his cheek, and actually, it felt like the wind created a small impact on his face. Naome swung the same arm from the punch to the side, almost elbowing him, had he not dodged by squatting out of the way. 

As Kakashi was lowered, Naome raised her right knee, ready to kick him in the stomach. He hopped back the slightest bit, but this time for sure, he felt the gust of wind following the kick, as it knocked half his breath out of him. Naome noticed that he had caught on, so without giving time for Kakashi to react, she began summoning a wave from the river, pulling it in such a way that it would gather around his feet, and trip him so that he fell backwards.

Kakashi cursed when he realized he had let his guard down, and he fell onto his back. He felt a weight on his torso as his upper body and arms were pinned to the ground with Naome sitting on top of him. A kunai was pressed against his throat. He didn’t expect Naome to have enough control of her wind release that she could amplify her actions to actually do damage. It wasn’t that he couldn’t counter those moves, he had simply underestimated her, which made him shocked. He hadn’t even realized that he had been backed up closer to the river the whole time.

“Well….looks like you won.” Kakashi smiled sheepishly after he recovered from his shock. He glanced up at the girl who was glaring down at him, tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Naome turned away from his gaze and stood up. He watched as she walked away from the training ground, back to the village. 

“Wow Kakashi-sensei! You got destroyed!” Naruto’s voice went ignored, and Kakashi’s book long forgotten on the ground, as he stared at her back retreating away from him. 

\---

Naome walked along the busy streets of town alone, angrily kicking a rock in front of her every few steps that she took.

“Stupid Kakashi Hatake. What does it matter if he’s good looking when he’s a total dick anyway?” She mumbled to herself. She wiped away tears of frustration as she continued down the street.

First, he showed up late. Then he spent the entire time not training their team, but reading his stupid Makeout Tactics book instead! Not to mention, their childish argument about whether or not she was “strong” enough to learn new wind jutsus. Obviously if she wasn’t strong enough then Asuma-sensei wouldn’t have taught her the wind release. The entire fight he wasn’t even taking it seriously, he was busy reading his damned book instead.

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she grew. She couldn’t understand why he was not teaching her. Was it because he really thought that she was weak? Or was it because he never really thought of her as a student? Maybe she was an outsider afterall. Her heart sank at the thought. Regardless of how nice her teammates were to her, her own team captain wouldn’t even accept her as part of the squad. She was, afterall, not a hidden leaf village shinobi.

She kept walking with her head down, focusing on the rock in front of her, when suddenly, she felt a rough poke on her forehead. “Ow!” She looked up to find Shikamaru standing in front of her. He had his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the girl in front of him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Ugh!” Naome cried. She didn’t even know where to start.  _ Everything! Everything was wrong _ , she wanted to say, but she didn’t want to take her frustrations out on Shikamaru. She didn’t want him to worry about her. 

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her. It wasn’t often that she would hide things from him, in fact, she usually would wear all her emotions on her sleeve, and open up to him about everything. Something must have been really bugging her.

“Let’s go.” Shikamaru sighed, grabbing Naome’s hand in his. She stumbled after him at first, but then continued walking next to him.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“Just follow.” Naome didn’t say anymore as she followed him. She felt instantly better with his warmth by her side.

\---

“Here you go.” Shikamaru handed Naome a stick of her favourite dango. He sat down on the wooden platform next to her. They were at his favourite rooftop place where he had sat ever since he was a kid, watching clouds with Choji and sometimes their dads. Now it was a place that he gladly shared with Naome as well. 

“Thanks Shika,” Naome said as she leaned her head on his shoulder and stared at the clouds passing overhead. She took a dango ball into her mouth and grinned, savouring the sugary flavour that she loved so much. 

“So...how was your first day training with the team?” Shikamaru was hesitant to ask, but he figured since she was in a better mood now, she would be more willing to share her thoughts.

“It sucked.” 

Shikamaru was shocked to hear her say that, but he tried to remain composed. “What do you mean it sucked?”

Naome sighed. “First Kakashi-sensei showed up half an hour late...”  _ Typical _ , Shikamaru thought to himself. “...and then he refused to train me!”

“What do you mean he refused to train you?”

“I mean he refused to train me! I asked him to teach me a new wind jutsu. He said that I’m not even ready for wind release. Are you kidding me?” Shikamaru almost flinched away at how angry Naome was getting. Women could be so scary sometimes.

“That freakin’ liar told Asuma-sensei that he would train me in wind release, and now, he’s not even paying attention to me at all during the training. He’s just standing there reading his stupid book! After that he had the balls to challenge me to fight him. So that’s what I did! I kicked his ass, but he wasn’t even taking me seriously! He didn’t even send one attack back, and he was holding his dumb book the whole damn time!”

Shikamaru was sure the copycat ninja had his reasoning behind his methods of teaching. Afterall, he wouldn’t be such a highly esteemed ninja for no reason. He didn’t want to bring this up to Naome though, knowing just how upset she was at the moment.

“I just feel like...like I don’t belong here you know…” Shikamaru snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention to the girl that was now crying next to him. He didn’t really know what to do because, let’s be honest, Shikamaru was not someone who spent his time trying to figure out girls before. It wasn’t until Naome came into his life two years ago that he began to truly care about a girl. 

Reaching over, he took Naome’s head between his hands and wiped the tears with his thumbs. He reached down and kissed her lightly on the lips, and then her forehead, before wrapping her trembling body in his arms. 

He closed his eyes and tried to zone out the sobs that he was hearing because it broke him a little inside to see her like this. Eventually, Naome relaxed into Shikamaru’s arms. She began to savour this very moment because despite feeling like an outsider for the first time in two years, to her, these arms felt like home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: There is an explicit scene at the end of the chapter. You have been warned.

The next day, Naome was awoken by Shikamaru running his fingers through her fine hair. She slowly opened her eyes, a bit shocked that he was the one that had woken up before her.

“Good morning.” She said, but her voice barely made it out. She still felt tired and she had a bit of the headache from the day before. “What time is it?”

“Already 9. Mom called us down for breakfast earlier but I told her you were still sleeping.” It was then that Naome noticed Shikamaru was already all dressed and ready for the day, and there she was, still in her PJs with her hair looking like a rats nest.

“I should get up.” Naome mumbled as she sat up and stretched out her sore body. If she didn’t get up soon, she would be late for her 10am training. Then again, she thought, who cares if she’s late if  _ he  _ was going to be late anyways?

She quickly got ready and the two of them headed downstairs to quickly stuff some food in their system before leaving for training. Naome walked all the way with Shikamaru to the area that his team was training in. Though all the training grounds were next to each other, they were still a couple of acres apart.

“Good morning Ino! Good morning Choji!” Naome waved as she and Shikamaru approached them. 

“Good morning!” The two called out. Asuma was still on a mission so the team hadn’t really started training yet. They didn’t mind having a visitor take up a bit of their time. 

“Sakura told me you guys are on the same team!” Ino said, “I’m so jealous. You guys get to hang out and stuff. Meanwhile, I’m here, stuck with these two buffoons.”

“Well...that’s one way to put it.” Naome didn’t want to go into details about how upset she was about the day before, and how on edge she still was. She stayed for another ten minutes or so to chat with her friends before she started walking in the direction of her own team’s training area. 

She was never usually late for meeting others, and she did feel bad for what she was doing, but she purposely wanted to to show up late to prove a point. If Kakashi Hatake wasn’t going to respect her time, she wasn’t about to respect his time either. Besides, she timed it just enough that she would arrive exactly half an hour after the agreed upon time which is when she expected Kakashi to arrive anyways.

When she got to the training grounds, she was surprised to find it empty. Even Sakura and Naruto were nowhere to be found. She wasn’t sure, had they gone on a mission without her? Did they decide on an alternate training place after she stormed out the day before?

Just as she was about to call out for them, she felt a presence appear behind her.

“You’re late.”

Naome jumped at the sound of the familiar voice and quickly turned around to meet the eyes of the silver-haired shinobi in front of her. “I didn’t think you would be on time,” she countered.

“That’s fair...I guess.” Kakashi walked a few steps away and leaned on a nearby tree. He tucked his book away, and stuck both his hands in his pants pocket as he talked to her. “So, what did you do yesterday after you ran away?”

Naome turned away from her sensei, almost feeling embarrassed by the temper tantrum she had shown the day before, especially now that she felt his eyes on her. She changed the topic instead. “Where are the others?”

“It’s just us today.” Naome’s heart skipped a beat when he said that. He continued, “Sakura is training with Lady Tsunade in the clinic. Naruto is working with Lord Jiraiya, and you, are stuck with me.”

_ Well that’s not a bad idea,  _ her teenage brain to convince her, but she shook it off. She had to remind herself that she was still mad at the male in front of her, and that she came today to demand answers for the day before.

“Are you mad at me?” It was almost like Kakashi had read her mind. Her eyes snapped back to meet his as he started approaching her. Naome built up her guard and crossed her arms. She sent daggers to the shinobi in front of her. Did he really not know why she was upset at him? “You’re not really mad at me,” he stated confidently..

“I am!” She was now face to face with him, and the rage started to return from the day before. Anger, but also at the same time, hurt. 

She flinched as Kakashi closed the distance in between them and leaned his face in next to hers. She swore she could feel the fabric of his mask just barely skimming her ear as he spoke, “Really? I know what you said yesterday.”

Confusion washed over Naome as she tried to remember what he was referring to. “What did I say?”

“I believe it was…” he stood up straight again and cleared his throat, “ _ Stupid Kakashi Hatake. What does it matter if he’s good looking when he’s a total dick anyway? _ Am I right?”

Naome’s face flushed bright red as she heard her own words come out of the man’s mouth. She could barely look at him. “H-how…”

“Oh, I might have followed you out when you left.” He said in a matter-of-factly tone. “So...do you really think I’m good looking?”

Naome couldn’t bear to face his teasing anymore so she turned away and started walking into the clearing. Her heart was racing and she could feel herself blushing more and more every second. After such an embarrassing comment about her own  _ sensei _ , how was she supposed to face him?! 

“C’mon. Let’s work on your wind release today.” 

Naome almost missed the sound of those words because she was lost in her own thoughts. She turned around, surprised by what she had heard. “You’re going to teach me today?”

“Isn’t that what I said?” He walked into the clearing to stand across from her. His hands were out of his pockets now, and for once, it seemed like he was serious about actually helping her. 

“Why all of a sudden?”

He sighed, “the reason why I didn’t think you were ready was because there are many risks when it comes to working with wind and water release at the same time. With fire and lightning, you can easily hurt yourselves. With wind and water, individually, they are not that bad, but when you put them together, you’re starting to play with elements of weather. If you don’t have enough control of them individually, you can easily lose grip of the power and it could become something catastrophic to yourself and those around you. Think flooding villages, storms, ice shards and pellets…”

“So you thought I would not be able to control my power?” Naome asked. She couldn’t tell if she was upset at him for underestimating her, or appreciative of the fact that he was showing that he cared about her well-being. “What’s changed now?”

“Now, I was able to see how you fight...” He said. “And you have potential.”

“Potential?”

“How should I put this…” Kakashi thought for a moment, “Lady Tsunade is training Sakura, Lord Jiraiya is training Naruto, and even Orochimaru is training Sasuke.  _ You _ are going to be  _ mine _ .”

“Yours…” Naome whispered. She liked the sound of that more than she admitted to herself, even though she knew what he meant wasn’t what she was secretly hoping for. 

“You’re quick enough, and you have a knack for picking up jutsus. You’re going to be my discipline.” It was rare to find Kakashi complimenting someone so much. Even he surprised himself at the words that were coming out of his mouth. Maybe it was the way she was so determined to show him her strength, combined with how distraught he had seen her in the town yesterday, that made him more compassionate to taking her under his wing.

Naome was also slightly taken aback by his compliments. She didn’t realize he had been paying that much attention to her before. With all her thoughts now positive, she gave her sensei a bow. “Thank you for believing in me.” 

Kakashi scratched his head awkwardly as he had never really declared himself as anyone’s official sensei or master before. “Well...let’s get started then!”

The two spent the next two hours training. During the time, Kakashi had begun to work on Naome’s wind chakra control. Naome often became frustrated whenever she lost concentration. 

“You need to stay calm and feel the air gathering around you.” He reminded her, but it was easier said than done. Naome could barely focus on the environment around her as she was busy being hyper aware of the set of eyes that were watching her the whole time. How was she expected to stay calm when the man she thought was so attractive was standing there staring at her?

Eventually, when she had enough of that, she took out her blade which she kept sheathed on her back, and they worked on wind release with it. The idea was to make it so that if she swung, the wind that emitted from her blade would still be able to slash whatever was in front of her. By the end of their practice, she was starting to see scratches on the bark of the tree that she was attacking. It wasn’t a lot, and she was determined to do more, but alas, she was exhausted.

She fell onto her back and placed her left forearm over her eyes to shield them from the sun. 

“I think we’re done for the day.” Kakashi said from his position under the tree. Finally he decided he had time to take out his book to read. Just as he grabbed onto it, a voice called out.

“Put that away,” Naome said, “we’re continuing.” Before she could even make a move to get up though, her stomach growled so loud that it echoed in the woods around her. 

Kakashi chuckled and put the book back in his pocket. He walked over to the hungry girl and held a hand out to her. He helped her to her feet and they began walking out of the clearing, “no more training for today. Let’s go get lunch.”

They made their way to Ichiraku Ramen where they found Naruto and Jiraiya as well. The four of them ate and discussed many things such as training, the Akatsuki, the budding relationships with the sand village, etc. Though Naome had heard about those topics before from Shikaku and Shikamaru’s conversations, she never realized how serious the topics were. During the conversations at lunch, she was able to learn a lot about the darker, more complicated parts of the hidden leaf village, including why Naruto had left two years ago, and why he was back now.

Just as they were leaving, a familiar voice called out to them.

“Naruto! Naome! Kakashi-sensei, Jiraiya-sensei!” Sakura quickly ran up to them, “there you guys are! I’ve been looking all over for everyone!”

“Sakura! What’s up?” Naruto asked as he eyed the female that was panting in front of him. She must really have been running around the whole town searching.

“Lady Tsunade has summoned all of us for a mission.” She said. “She wants us...to bring back Sasuke.”

Naruto’s head dropped as he took in the information. He knew the day would come, but he didn’t realize how he felt about it. He was eager still to bring his best friend home, but at the same time, he was anxious. No longer was he the same child with all these big hopes and idealisms, this time, it was real and he made promises to bring Sasuke home no matter what.

“When are we going?” Kakashi asked. He seemed a little bit broken by the answer too. 

“Tomorrow morning.” Sakura replied. 

Kakashi nodded and turned around. He readied his teleportation jutsu. “Let’s go Naome.”

“Go where?” Naome replied, still stunned by the sudden news of the new mission. A mission that she knew meant a lot to her new team.

“To train.” With that, he disappeared. 

Naome walked over and gave Sakura a hug, “see you guys tomorrow,” she said before she disappeared as well.

Kakashi pushed her harder than he had earlier. This time with a lot more urgency and sternness in his voice. They sparred with taijutsu, and Kakashi had requested that she went all out, pushing all of the wind energy that she could out of every attack that she sent his way. “More! I need to feel your punch not a few centimeters away but meters away!” 

Naome tried her best. She had seen Asuma do it before, but he had his damn wind blades for goodness sakes. Those easily funneled chakra whereas now, she was asked to push the wind from her own body. As they sparred, Naome began to get used to the speed that Kakashi was going at. After a while, he even pulled up his headband to reveal his Sharingan before continuing.

Kakashi realized he was right. She wasn’t the strongest, but she was definitely one of the fastests fighters for her age, even faster than her teammates. Her blows were also strategic, especially now that she was concentrating on releasing wind energy with every hit. 

They kept going until the sun had set. It was long past the end of the training time, in fact, Kakashi hadn’t expected to train after lunch. He knew, however, that this would be Naome’s first S-ranked mission and he needed to prepare her for it. He looked over at the girl that was breathing heavily on the floor next to him. She was fully worn out, and he knew she would be exhausted and sore the next day.

“Let’s go,” he said as he helped her up, “I’ll walk you back.”

When they reached the Nara household, Shikamaru met them at the door as soon as they arrived. Shikaku and Yoshino stood in the entrance-way behind him. They all knew Naome was in good hands, but at the same time, they were worried because she had come home late, and she would usually tell them ahead of time if she couldn’t make it for dinner.

Shikamaru eyed the exhausted kunoichi standing next to Kakashi. Kakashi had an arm around her back in case she were to fall over from exhaustion. “Sorry we’re late,” Kakashi said, “something came up so we had to do a little extra training. I should have let you guys know first.”

Shikaku shook his head, “it’s okay. We know she’s safe with you watching over her.”

“Right…” Kakashi said. He hesitated before telling the family the full news. “I’m going to be watching over her for the next few days.”

“What do you mean?” Shikamaru said, immediately becoming suspicious. A mission was a mission, Kakashi wouldn’t word it in such a way, unless there was something to hide.

Kakashi sighed, deciding to tell the family the whole truth even though he suspected that the mission was supposed to be top secret. “Our team has been ordered to bring back Sasuke Uchiha. We have been notified of a possible hideout.”

“What?!” Shikamaru yelled. Naome jumped, as she had never seen Shikamaru that responsive and that angry before. “No way, you can’t send her to find Sasuke! I understand he means a lot to Naruto, and Sakura, a-and your team but Kakashi-sensei, Naome has never been on a S-ranked mission before! And you know he’s dangerous!”

“I know...that’s why we had to get some extra training in-”

“No amount of training right now is going to prepare her for that! She’s only been going on missions for the past year or so. How can she go? Especially now, look at how worn out she is-”

“Shikamaru that’s enough,” his father’s stern voice cut into the conversation. “You know as well as the rest of us that it wasn’t Kakashi’s doing. He did not request for their team to go on such a dangerous mission. This is the hokage’s orders.”

“But-”

“Naome,” Shikaku continued, as he turned to the girl who was watching this all unfold quietly, “Do you feel that you are ready for this mission?”

“I...think so…” She said.

“Do you feel safe going on this mission with your team?” Shikaku asked again. 

Naome took a quick glance at Kakashi before she nodded. “Yeah. I do feel safe with my team.” 

Shikaku nodded and stepped up to stand in front of Kakashi, “You take care of her, and bring her back to us.”

“I will, sir.” Kakashi said. He gave Naome a quick squeeze on the shoulder before he stepped aside. “I’m sorry but I need to excuse myself. I need to check-in to the hokage’s office to prepare for tomorrow’s mission.”

Shikaku nodded, “alright. Goodnight then.” With that, Kakashi disappeared into thin air. Shikaku walked up to Naome and began helping her into the house. “Shikamaru, go draw a warm bath for Naome. She’s going to need it after she eats her dinner.”

“But dad-” Shikamaru was cut off one last time by a sharp look from his father. He sighed defeatedly before heading upstairs to do as he was told. 

After dinner and taking a warm bath, Naome said goodnight to her aunt and uncle and immediately set off to bed. Her body was sore already from the training and she knew she wouldn’t be able to get up early if she didn’t get enough sleep. When she got into Shikamaru’s room, she was met with a very displeased look.

Naome slipped into her side of the bed and turned to face the still pouting Shikamaru. “You know I’ll be fine right?” she said as she ran her fingers through his untied hair. He pulled her flush against his body and set his chin on the top of her head. The two wrapped their arms around each other as if it was their last time holding each other.

“I know,” he said, “but you don’t know the severity of the situation and who you are dealing with. Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha are both S ranked criminals. They’re rogue ninjas.”

“I have an idea, but I guess you’re right, I don’t know.” Naome said. She leaned back a bit so that she could look into the eyes of the male next to her. “But I know I am going to return to you, no matter what.”

“You promise?” Shikamaru’s voice held so much vulnerability behind it that he realized he was begging her to stay. He needed her to return to him.

“I promise.” Naome leaned in to give Shikamaru a deep kiss to seal the deal. Shikamaru pushed back into the kiss as well. Naome placed one hand on his head, weaving her fingers into his hair, and the other on his shoulder as she clung desperately to her sense of home and safety. She was scared, no, not scared, but terrified of the nature of this mission, but she knew it was her duty as a shinobi to do this. For now though, the sense of intimacy took her mind off of things.

Shikamaru rolled on top of her. He straddled her hips as his hands roamed under her loose fitting pyjamas shirt. He easily found what he was looking for as Naome never wore a bra to sleep, (it was something that he secretly enjoyed the most). He took a nipple between his right index finger and thumb and pinched it, turning it slightly in the way he knew she loved the most. Naome threw her head back and let out a quiet moan, still aware of the two adults that were sleeping down the hall. She shivered as she felt Shikamaru lift her shirt with the other hand. She was not exposed for long though because a mouth came down and clasped onto the free breast, sucking onto the tip, causing her to buckle her hips into the man on top of her. 

Naome lost track of all her thoughts as he swirled his tongue around the tip of one nipple, and pinched the other between his fingers. She could feel her panties getting wet as her insides throbbed, yearning for some friction, or even more, to be filled. She brought her hands up to tug at his shirt.

“Shikamaru, please.” Her voice was hoarse and needy as she called for him. He sat up and answered her with a roll of his hips before taking off his own shirt. It didn’t take long before the two of them stripped until they were naked. He quickly reached into the bedside drawer and pulled out a condom before slipping it onto his already hardened length.

Shikamaru pressed his cock along the lips of her vagina. He rubbed along it, coating himself with all the juices as he worked. Naome moaned as she felt the familiar tension growing in her lower belly from the friction she was receiving to her clit. Every time he rubbed against it with his length, she could feel the tension growing. “Shika, I-I can’t, I’m going to-”

Abruptly, Shikamaru came to a stop, but before Naome could even open her mouth to protest, he inserted himself completely into her hole. Naome’s eyes shot open and her back arched as she let out a silent scream in pleasure. She came all over Shikamaru. He paused, savouring the warmth that was surrounding him as well as the tremors that he felt as her body came down from its high.

He leaned down and kissed her deeply before he began moving again, pumping in and out of her, over and over again. She lost her breath every time she felt him fill her and hit her spot. She wanted to scream out so badly but she could only grip onto Shikamaru’s back and bury her mouth into his neck, biting down every once in a while to mute her cries of bliss.

“Oh fuck, it feels so good,” the lazy genius cursed as he felt her start to tense up again. The walls that were surrounding his length started closing in, and as she was closer to cumming again, he was also about to explode from the way her body felt around him.

“Oh my-baby I’m about to cum.”

“Me too, me too. Cum for me.” Naome cried as she felt her toes curl again. Her back arched from the sensation of Shikamaru throbbing inside her before her own body shook from her own orgasm.

The two bodies fell limp next to each other as they both tried to catch their breaths and calm down. After a few minutes, when he finally softened, Shikamaru carefully pulled out. He was well aware that the girl next to him had already fallen asleep and he didn’t want to wake her. After he cleaned himself up, he turned off the lights and crawled back into bed. He leaned over and kissed the sleeping beauty next to him softly before drifting off to sleep as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Both Naome and Shikamaru woke up extra early the next morning. The sun hadn’t even risen yet. Neither of them could really fall back sleep, and neither of them spoke. The two of them spent an extended period of time just cuddling and appreciating each other’s presence before Naome got up to get ready. Shikamaru immediately moved to follow her.

“You don’t have to get up,” Naome said, “it’s still early.”

Shikamaru silently ignored her and got up anyways. The two of them got ready together and went down to have breakfast. Shikamaru’s parents were up earlier than usual to help make breakfast for Naome and pack some necessities for the trip. Naome had always been grateful for their help, as this has become a regular thing since she started going on missions. This time though, the entire household seemed to be a bit more solemn. Shikaku didn’t even bother joking about the marks he spotted on Shikamaru’s neck that were barely hidden behind the neckline of his green vest.

They ate in silence before Naome went upstairs to grab the rest of her ninja tools and her sword. When she got to the front door, Yoshino handed her her backpack with the survival necessities inside including some first aid materials, firestarters, camping blankets, and some food and water.

“Stay safe.” Yoshino said, as she pulled Naome into a motherly hug. Naome almost cried from the overwhelming amount of love that she felt.

Naome also hugged Shikaku who tried to keep a calm demeanor the entire time. It was almost like saying goodbye to her own parents, and they were the only parents she ever truly felt that she had.

Shikamaru quietly walked Naome to the front gates of the village. The sun was barely beginning to rise now, but the town was still mostly silent the entire way there. When they got to the gates, Sakura and Naruto had just arrived as well. To everyone’s surprise, Tsunade and Kakashi showed up not long after. 

The entire team looked as if they hadn’t got much sleep because they were either anxious or spending the entire night thinking about the mission ahead. Shikamaru ignored Kakashi as the jonin approached the team. He knew he was being unreasonable, but he was still angry at the copycat ninja for allowing Naome to go on the mission with them. He could have taken someone more experienced.

Shikamaru turned to the hokage when she arrived and bowed out of respect despite the fact that he was also frustrated with her as well. Tsunade eyed Shikamaru and returned an acknowledging nod. She wasn’t blind. She knew how protective he was of the new addition to Konoha ever since the first day he had brought the girl back and asked that she could stay in the village. 

“How long is the mission?” Shikamaru finally broke the tense silence. He asked despite knowing that S-ranked missions could range anywhere from a few days to years. 

“We are expecting between a week or two,” Tsunade replied. “The intel provided suggests the hideout is about three days north-west of the village. The timing depends on what they find there.”

Shikamaru felt a little bit more at ease knowing that the timeline was rather short in comparison to the S-ranked missions. Of course, he was still hoping from the bottom of his heart that they wouldn’t find anything and that there would not be a run in with Sasuke or Orochimaru. “I see.”

“We should set out now.” Kakashi said. He was now at the front of the group, and looking back at the members behind him. He watched as Naome turned to Shikamaru one last time and gave him a hug. Shikamaru kissed Naome on the forehead, allowing his lips to linger there for a moment before they finally had to say goodbye. As Naome walked towards her team, Shikamaru sent Kakashi a look. Kakashi met the eye contact and his eyes narrowed as he caught a glimpse of the marks that were on Shikamaru’s neck. He provided Shikamaru with a small and curt nod before turning to walk away from the village.

\---

Naome had to admit, finally being outside of the village again was kind of freeing. She hadn’t been able to dash along the branches of the trees over a large area in a long time. The group had travelled for hours, stopping every once in a while to rest and eat something. During their travel, the three younger shinobi spent a lot of time talking and reminiscing about their younger years in the ninja academy. 

Sakura told stories about her rivalry with Ino despite the fact that they seemed like really close friends now, and Naruto mentioned how nice Choji and Shikamaru were to him ever since he was young despite the fact that the rest of the village seemed to hate him. Naome couldn’t help but giggle as she thought about what type of kid Naruto was when he was running around and drawing on the faces of the hokage statues. Deep inside, she had truly wished that she had grown up in the hidden leaf village rather than alone in the hidden rain village.

It was later in the afternoon that Naome finally dared to ask about Sasuke. Naruto had decided to talk to Kakashi, and Sakura and Naome stayed further back to talk. 

“Sakura, can I ask you a question?”

“Yeah sure! What is it?” 

Hesitantly, Naome brought up the topic, knowing that for some reason, it was a sensitive topic to everyone. “Can you tell me a little bit more about Sasuke?”   


Sakura thought for a second, “well, I guess you can say he was a member of our team. He’s also one of the sole survivors of the Uchiha clan. He graduated top of our class in the academy and he was super strong and smart.”

“Shikamaru called him a rogue ninja.” Naome watched as Sakura flinched from the term. She immediately felt bad for bringing it up. “Why did he leave?”

“He had his own goals I guess.” Tears had started to fill Sakura’s eyes and she reminisced about her last moments with Sasuke. Upon seeing her cry, Naome decided to drop the topic. She still wasn’t sure what their relationship was, but she couldn’t bear to see her friend like that anymore. 

She changed the topic instead, “What was Shikamaru like when he was a kid?” 

\---

When the sun was beginning to set, the team decided to call it a day and began to set up their camp by a river. They took turns gathering and cooking food, and setting up a fire in the centre of their things. By nightfall, Kakashi had split the group into two squads.

“Sakura and Naruto, you guys can go to sleep first. Naome and I will take first watch. Later on in the night we can switch,” he said as he climbed up to one of the taller branches in the area for a better view. Neither Sakura nor Naruto argued with their sensei as they were exhausted from a full day of travelling and having not much sleep from the night before.

When they fell asleep, Naome went up to join Kakashi on the branch. She sat down next to him and stared up at the night sky. It was easy to see the stars from the woods, just as it was on the rooftop of the Nara residence. Looking up at the stars made Naome think of Shikamaru and wondered how he was doing at home.

“What are you thinking about?” Kakashi’s voice broke the silence between them. Neither of them really made eye contact as they stared at the vast scenery around them.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Naome replied. “We barely spoke today. What are you thinking about?”

Kakashi sighed, “a lot of things.”

“Amuse me.” Naome challenged him. For some reason, she wanted to know more about her sensei past the mysterious demeanor that he always carried around with him. She could just tell from the way he stared off sometimes that he had a lot of deeper, darker thoughts in his mind.

“What do you want to know?” 

“Hm...What do you think about this mission? You seemed very serious from the moment that Sakura told us about it.” A long silence filled the air and Naome almost wondered if she had crossed the line. The entire Sasuke topic seemed like a sensitive one to the entire team, even her sensei.

“Sasuke was my student before he was Orochimaru’s.” Kakashi said, “And yet….I couldn’t stop him from leaving. I couldn’t make him strong enough to reach his goals. I couldn’t stop him from turning to the darkness to gain power, just like his brother.”

“Why are you blaming yourself for his decisions?” Naome turned to look at Kakashi, “I guess I’m still new to this whole scenario, but I don’t think it’s your fault that he left. He made his own decision. You’re not being fair to yourself if you keep beating yourself up over this.”

He sighed, “I know. But in the end, he felt like the first student I had failed as a sensei, y’know?”

Naome did understand and she wanted so badly to reach over and give him a hug, but she kept her distance, not wanting to go past the invisible line. “What about the others? What’s his relationship with Naruto and Sakura? It seems to me like they’re more than just teammates.”

Kakashi chuckled as he remembered the interactions of his younger students. “Naruto and Sasuke were always rivals, but secretly, I think Naruto envied him for all the skills and attention that Sasuke got. They’re rivals...but best friends in a way. Sakura on the other hand…” he let out another laugh, “she was just always so in love with Sasuke from the very beginning. I really shouldn’t tease her. She must still have some strong feelings for him.”

“Oh…” Naome felt a little bit like an outsider now. What would happen if Sasuke returned? What would her place on the team be? She also began to realize why Sakura didn’t really answer her earlier.

“But anyways,” Kakashi continued, “enough with Sasuke. What’s going on between you and Shikamaru?”

Naome turned away from Kakashi as she felt a blush form on her cheeks. She didn’t know why she was suddenly embarrassed to talk about that topic in front of her sensei. It had been brought up many times before between their friends and even some of the adults. They had always just played it off, and Naome was used to it, but for some reason, she was hesitant to answer Kakashi.

“N-nothing…”

“Nothing?” Kakashi teased, “he sure seems awfully protective of you. I’ve never seen him like that and I’ve known him since he was a kid.”

“Well…” Naome said, “it’s hard to put a label on it. He saved me, and we have a good relationship.”

“What kind of relationship?”

“I don’t know! Just a relationship. I care about him, and he cares about me. Gosh what else do you need to know, you nosey sensei?” Naome pretended to be annoyed, but really, she was just anxious talking to Kakashi about it and wanted to change the topic as quickly as possible.

Kakakshi chuckled, “alright, alright. I’ll let you off the hook for now. Just let your little boyfriend know not to bite my head off next time you see him alright?”

“I never said- ugh!” Naome groaned in frustration, causing Kakashi to laugh even more at her reaction. For some reason, he thoroughly enjoyed teasing her, and actually for once, did not mind opening up to her about his thoughts and feelings. 

They continued talking into the night, forgetting to even wake up the other two teammates that were sleeping away below them.

\---

The second day of their travels went on about the same as the first. Naruto and Sakura found it suspicious though that both Kakashi and Naome decided to take a nap under the tree during their lunch break. 

“Why on Earth did the two of you choose to not wake us up to switch last night, if you’re going to end up falling asleep on the journey anyways?” Sakura scolded them as they continued travelling through the trees. Naome could help but yawn in response. For sure she had to get some sleep tonight, she reminded herself, otherwise she would be doomed on the third day which would be the most important day of the mission.

That was easier said than done though. It was Sakura and Naruto’s turn for the first watch and during that time, both Kakashi and Naome were able to catch up on some much needed rest. Half way through the night, Naome was awoken by Sakura who looked like she was about to pass out from exhaustion. Naome sat up to find out that Naruto had already fallen asleep during his duty, and now Sakura was about to wake up Kakashi as well. Naome stopped her, shaking her head to indicate that Kakashi needed more sleep and that she would be fine on her own. 

Sakura didn’t argue, and simply went to her own blanket to fall asleep. Naome sat down next to her teammates and Kakashi. The campfire that was burning allowed for her to see the features of Kakashi’s face as he slept. She noticed that he constantly had his eyebrows furrowed in his sleep. She giggled at the thought of how many wrinkles the older ninja would have if he kept his stern expression on for every hour of the day.

She was busy admiring his features when suddenly she noticed him twitching in his sleep. Cold sweat started breaking out on his face as he began mumbling nonsensical things in his dreams. Naome realized he must have been having a nightmare, and one that was quite bad at that. She slid closer to him and tried to hold his hand for support, but the nightmare only seemed to get worse. 

“Kakashi-sensei…” she whispered, not wanting to wake the other two up. It was no use, he couldn’t be let loose from his dream. She shook his arm a bit, but he didn’t respond.

After another minute, he suddenly shot up. His eyes were now open as he checked out the surroundings around him, and his breath was heavy. 

“Naome…” he mumbled, once he realized where he was and who was around him. He groaned and bowed his head into one of his palms, trying to rub the cold sweat and the headache out of his head. It was then that he noticed his other hand was being grasped by the girl next to him.

He turned his head to look at her. Naome awkwardly stared back at him. “You were having a nightmare.”

He sighed, and looked away. “Sorry you had to see that.”

“It’s okay.” She said as she gave his hand another squeeze before letting go and putting it to her side. “I’ve always had nightmares too. I still do sometimes, but Shikamaru is always there to help me through them.”

“I see,” he said. His breathing was finally starting to return to normal. “Well, you need to get some rest, otherwise you won’t have enough energy for tomorrow.”

Naome shook her head. “No, I was able to sleep for a few hours. I should be fine. You should sleep instead.”

“I don’t think I can.” 

“Okay, I’ll keep you company then.” Kakashi didn’t argue. He stared into the fire while feeling the warmth of the girl next to him. He tried desperately to forget the painful memories he had just relived in his dreams. He felt her eyes on him and fully gave in when she reached her arm over and guided his head to her shoulder. He leaned into her body and relaxed. For once, he allowed himself to be comforted by another person.


	8. Chapter 8

The morning came quickly. All of team Kakashi anxiously gathered their things to head out in the direction of where intel had suggested they would find Sasuke. They travelled on the ground, this time at a much slower and more cautious pace. Naome could feel the tension in the air as the rest of her team kept their eyes peeled for the rock formation they were told about. 

After what felt like forever, the treeline ended and they could see a large rocky, flat-topped hill in front of them. The hill, or mesa, seemed to stretch all the way across the horizon. Kakashi stopped his team while they were still under the cover of the last bits of forest around them. 

“I didn’t imagine the landmark to be so large.” Kakashi said as he quickly devised a plan in his head. “We need to split up in order to find the entrance to this hideout. There could be multiple entrances, and knowing Orochimaru, the place is probably rigged with booby traps.”

Kakashi quickly performed a few hand signs before he placed his palm on the floor and summoned all eight of his ninja dogs. “Kakashi, where have you summoned us?” Pakkun said as he looked around. 

“I don’t have much time to explain,” Kakashi said, “the longer we stand here, the more danger we are in. I need you all to help me find Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha, they should be in that rock formation in front of us.” 

“Do you have his scent?” The small bulldog spoke.

Naruto silently reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a tattered headband. “It’s his,” was all he managed to say as he stared deeply at the crossed leaf symbol engraved in it. He carried it around with him everywhere he went. It reminded him of what he was training for, and the promises that he had made to bring his friend home. Secretly, he hoped that one day, he would be able to return it to Sasuke when he returned to the leaf village.

Each of the dogs took turns sniffing the headband and memorizing the scent. “Okay, got it. So what’s your plan chief?” The large bulldog said.

“Pakkun, you will search the East side with Naruto and Sakura. Bisuke will stay with Naome and I. We will start with the West. The rest of the hounds, if you can all scatter to find the scent, it would be great. Once you find them, do not engage. Notify me immediately,” he turned to Naruto and Sakura specifically, “is that clear? You will not engage if you find him.”

Everyone in the group nodded before they all scattered. Naome and Kakashi dashed off to the left side of the hill, allowing the light brown ninja pup to lead the search. They quickly closed distance on the large rock so that at least, they could be provided some coverage if anyone were to be watching them from above.

“Listen Naome,” Kakashi started, as they walked around searching for the entrance, “I’m going to need you to stand down and stand behind me if we end up finding them. If need be, you need to watch my signal to run.”

“Run? Why are you babying me Kakashi? You never told the other two to run. I get it, don’t engage, but I don’t need you to defend me. I can defend myself.” Naome insisted. She was starting to get frustrated at his lack of trust in her and her abilities.

“I’m not trying to baby you! You just don’t know how dangerous these two are.”

“You don’t know either, you haven’t seen him in two years!”

Kakashi sighed and stopped in his tracks, turning around to face her with a stern expression. “You’re right, I don’t know what his abilities are now, but I do know that he has perfected a lightning style jutsu that I taught him myself, and that with that technique and the environment combined, he can counter any ninjutsu you throw at him.”

“I have other techniques you know.” Naome stated. Kakashi eyed the sword on her back before replying.

“I heard he has become quite a swordsman himself. Not to mention, you haven’t perfected your wind release techniques yet. I can’t risk sending you into combat, especially if this is one of your first high ranked missions”

“I don’t think you realize Kakashi- _ sensei _ ,” she spat out the last part of his name, “I am not a kid anymore, and I have been through my fair share of ups and downs and combat before I even arrived in this village of yours. I’ve trained with the toughest, fought with the worst, and lived through hell and back ever since I was a child. So  _ don’t  _ underestimate me.”

With that, she started storming off ahead before Kakashi could even rebuttal her words. Kakashi sighed once again before following behind her. The ninja hound looked awkwardly between the two bickering shinobi before he caught up to Naome at the front and began leading the way again.

Tension filled the group as they continued searching to no avail, and they also proceeded to not say a single word to each other the entire time. 

Naome was upset because Kakashi always seemed to be so polarizing as to whether or not he believed in her strength. She knew she was strong. She knew she had so much more experience than she had let on, and yet, Kakashi was there doubting her capabilities even though he had previously said that she had potential. She was already growing tired of all this bickering. It was as if the second they were able to get along, all of a sudden they would be yelling at each other again. Deep inside, she knew it was because he cared for her safety, but between Kakashi’s nagging and Shikamaru’s overprotectiveness, she was beginning to feel like a more dependent and weak human again. She wanted to prove to them, but more importantly herself, that she was as strong as her experience deemed her to be.

Kakashi continued walking as he watched the back of the girl in front of him. He didn’t know why he was always overreacting when it came to her safety. Maybe it was because of the pity story that he had been told about her not having a family, and being found in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it was because he always believed that comrades came first. He would have liked to believe that it was the latter one rather than anything. He hated to admit it, but she was right. He didn’t know a lot about her background. No one really told him when he had asked. That’s why he had his doubts about training her at first, afterall, she was from the hidden rain village, a village that had many unknowns. At the same time though, he knew that the mission could be far more dangerous than what she was imagining, and he had a duty as his sensei to protect her. 

Kakashi was snapped out of his thoughts when Bisuke suddenly began dashing forward. “Quickly,” the small hound said, “I can smell him. I can also smell Pakkun’s party as well. They are on their way to the entrance up ahead.”

Naome and Kakashi began to pick up their pace as they climbed over and under the scrap rocks, trying to locate the entrance way in the massive rock wall next to them. Suddenly there was a small crevice that appeared as a gap in the wall. “Over here,” the dog said as he dashed into it. 

The two ninjas squeezed their way into the crevice before they were suddenly opened up to a dark hallway. They barely had time to take in the scenario because the dog took off running again in the direction of the scent. 

“I’m beginning to sense their chakra.” Kakashi said from behind Naome. Naome nodded but ignored him otherwise. They continued weaving in and out of hallways, passing many dark doorways that spooked the crap out of Naome, but she didn’t stop to think twice about it. Instead, she focused on keeping pace. 

“We’re almost there.” The pup said, and thank goodness for the Bisuke because they would have taken forever to find their way out of this maze. After two more turns, Naome could see the bright daylight shining through the entrance way of the tunnel. 

They skidded to a stop once they had reached the outdoors again. This time, they were standing in what looked and felt like the bottom of a great canyon, looking up at the mountainous rock range surrounding them. Right away, Naome could sense it, the presence of very powerful chakra emitting from above. There wasn’t just one, but two. 

She squinted to look up at the silhouettes of the figures standing at the top of the large rock. Just barely, she could make out the look of a male about her age who she assumed to be Sasuke Uchiha. The other, a male with long, dark hair, looked older, and definitely had a more creepy vibe to him.

“Sasuke!” Sakura’s voice echoed through the opening. Naome turned to find Sakura, Naruto, and Pakkun at another entrance almost across the whole opening from them. 

Naome watched Sasuke wearily as he scanned the area below him. He looked at his previous teammates with nothing but a look of blankness and disdain. Naome almost shook at how heartless he seemed to be. As if on cue, his eyes flashed to meet hers. They were the same, piercing look, but with a hint of curiousity as he looked at who had joined their team. Naome froze as she watched his eyes switch from dark irises to double red, piercing Sharingans. Before she could even blink, Kakashi was instantly in front of her, activating the Sharingan of his own. Naruto too, stepped in front of Sakura when he realized what his best friend was doing.

“Sasuke,” Naruto said, “it’s been two years.”

“Yes, and your point?” Naome shivered, hearing the cold voice for the first time.

“It’s been two years already, and finally we found you. Please, just come back already.” The usual playful Naruto was gone, and there was this Naruto, practically begging for his rival and best friend to return.

“You only found me because I let you find me.” Sasuke said. “I wanted you to come here so I can tell you this: stop looking for me. The next time I see you, I _will_ _kill you_. Any, and all of you.”

“Sasuke! You can’t mean that!” Sakura called out again, tears were streaming from her eyes as she watched the love of her life stare down at her with such hatred. 

Sasuke let out a menacing laugh that echoed through the entire canon. “Try me.” Sasuke reached to draw his sword and almost instantaneously, Kakashi readied himself and began to charge his lightning, knowing he would have to dash in whichever direction the rogue ninja decided to go.

“Remember what I said.” Kakashi whispered to Naome. Instead, Naome stood her ground and reached for her sword as well. Just as Sasuke was about to dash forward towards his former teammates, another voice stopped him.

“Sasuke, we ought to get going now.” Orochimaru hissed. “Who knows how many people they brought with them.”

Sasuke hesitated for a moment before he stepped back, dropping his hand from his blade. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Orochimaru chuckled, “alright, alright. Let’s get going now.”

They disappeared into thin air.

“Wait!” Naruto screamed after him. Immediately, he started running up the side of the mountain. Sakura and Pakkun followed after him.

Kakashi dropped his lightning, and just as he was about to begin running after his students, the ground under them began to shake and crumble underneath them. In mere seconds, Kakashi and Naome had fallen into complete darkness with a layer of rocks over them.

“Fuck!” Kakashi cursed as the large rocks tumbled onto his back. When the ground gave way and Naome and Kakashi fell in, Kakashi had the sense to brace himself over the female ninja to block her from the impact of the falling boulders. Now, Kakashi was struggling to keep himself up as he felt the pain of his back getting cracked in several places, and the weight that was squishing him down. 

“Kakashi-sensei!” Naome cried as soon as she came to her senses. She couldn’t really see in the darkness but she had an idea of what had happened once she felt Kakashis’ body hunched over hers and the sound of rocks falling above them.

She quickly crawled out from underneath him and began working to push the boulders off of him. Using all her strength, and the added bonus of adrenaline, she managed to shove a few of the rocks off, enough at least for Kakashi to stumble into the clearer area. 

“Kakashi! Are you okay?” The sound of Bisuke’s voice echoed in the small dark area, as he managed to squeeze his way into the cave. “You guys hang in here, I’m going to get Naruto and Sakura-”

“Don’t,” Kakashi managed to say, “Tell them to go after Sasuke, that was the mission. Watch over them for me. Tell one of the hounds to make contact with the nearest available team that is on a mission to assist them. If they lose him, bring them back to us. If not, once I recover, we will find a way out.”

Bisuke shot Kakashi a worried glance before he nodded and worked his way between the small gaps of the boulder, and out of the cave. 

Kakashi flinched as he moved to sit in a more comfortable position. Naome quickly reached into her backpack and pulled out a set of matches. She lit one, allowing the small flame to fill the room. 

“What are you doing?” Kakashi asked as he eyed the girl that was crawling along the floor of the small dark cave.

“Looking for a torch or something to hold this flame.”

Kakashi scoffed and produced a fireball in the palm of his hand. “As if that tiny match is going to do anything.”

Naome declined his offer and continued looking, “you’re injured. Who knows how long we’ll be in here. You could be holding that flame for days.”

The light that Kakashi produced did in fact help her find a torch of sorts though. Naome recognized it as a wall torch, a replica of the ones that they ran past in the hallway of Orochimaru’s lier. She grabbed it, and lit the torch before setting it on the ground in the middle of the small cave. The light allowed her to get a good look at Kakashi. He was hunched over and grimacing from the pain in his back. Kakashi set his arm down, allowing his own flame to go out.

“It looks like we fell into a trap.” Kakashi said, wincing in pain. Naome sighed and sat behind the jonin. She began performing a basic healing jutsu to see if she could help him ease the pain, at least until Sakura could get a better look at his spine. 

“It was booby trapped.” Naome said, “we fell straight into their trap. Of course, if they’re S-ranked criminals like you described, they have a lot of evidence and history to hide.”

“Yeah…” Kakashi mumbled. He was upset with himself that he hadn’t seen it coming. A long stretch of silence consumed the room as Naome continued to work on Kakashi’s back. She could tell it was barely doing anything, but at least for now, it seemed like his pain had lessened.

“Thank you.” She spoke quietly, but the silence of the room made it seem amplified.

“For what?” Kakashi asked.

“For saving me back there. For throwing yourself under the boulders for me.”

“Oh...yeah. No problem. I’m your sensei, it’s what I do.”

“And I’m sorry for arguing with you earlier,” Naome continued, “I should have listened to what you said.”

Kakashi turned his head to look at her and gave her a small smile. “It’s okay. We’re both safe now. Besides, you’re kind of right. I shouldn’t have been so overprotective of you. You are a very capable shinobi. I just can’t help it.”

Naome blushed at his words and thanked the heavens that dimmer lighting hid it well. She decided to change the topic. “How long do you think we’ll be in here?”

“A while.” Kakashi replied in a nonchalant manner. Naome wondered how he could be so calm about the whole scenario. She sighed. If they were going to be stuck there for a while, she might as well get comfortable. She leaned back lazily into the wall behind her and spread her legs onto either side of the copycat ninja to get into a more comfortable position. 

“Back up a bit.” She told him to which he complied. If they were going to be there for hours, then Naome wanted to continue healing him in a more comfortable position. Kakashi relaxed as well, allowing the warmth of the healing jutsu to take over his sore body. 

Eventually the two of them fell asleep in that position. Naome, propped against the wall, with Kakashi leaning back into her torso. Naome’s hands had fallen from his back, and she had wrapped them comfortably around his waist.

\---

Naome didn’t know how many hours had passed before she woke to the sound of Kakashi’s voice desperately calling out. The words were incoherent at first, but then she realized he was calling out a name in his nightmares. Supporting his body, Naome swung around and kneeled down in front of his crossed legs only to catch a glimpse of the tears that had been glistening down his cheeks. 

Kakashi was just barely awake from his nightmares now as he stared at the figure in front of him through glossy eyes. He subconsciously reached up to pull his mask down. The fire continued to burn behind Naome, allowing her to catch a full glimpse of the man in front of her. She memorized every feature and gently traced her finger along the scar that was running down his eye onto his cheek. Kakashi on the other hand, could only see the shadow of the person in front of him. 

His dreams still dazed him as he reached out to the figure, holding her face gently in his hands. Naome watched, stunned, as Kakashi closed his eyes and began to lean forward. She knew this was wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop him. He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers.

Naome shivered from the contact at first, but then closed her eyes, savouring the very touch and moment in front of her. Kakashi kissed her deeply, so much so that she could feel the longing in his actions.

As quick as it had started, it was over. Kakashi broke the kiss, his head falling to the side and onto Naome’s shoulder. “Rin,” he called out one last time before his body went limp. No one could see the tears that began pouring from her eyes as she muffled her cries into the shoulder of the man that she had now realized she had begun to fall in love with. She continued to cry, her heart breaking, as she held the sleeping man in her arms again.


	9. Chapter 9

Naome had no idea how many hours had passed since she had fallen asleep. Her back was pressed against the wall, and before she had passed out, she maneuvered Kakashi’s body so that his head was laying in her lap. She had used whatever she had in her bag to try to create a soft bedding for his back to lay on.

Awake now, her eyes scanned the endless darkness around her. The fire on the torch had gone out while she was asleep and she couldn’t really see anything. She didn’t think that much time had passed because Kakashi was still sound asleep.

“Kakashi?” Naome thought she was imagining things when she heard the sound of another voice in the cave. The darkness enhanced her hearing though, so she began to notice faint sound of scratching against rocks followed by some very light but quick footsteps on the ground. 

“Kakashi?” The voice called out again, a lot closer this time. Naome realized it was Kakashi’s chief ninja hound that had found his way into the cave. He used his master’s scent to reach their bodies.

“Pakkun, is it?” Naome called out to the pup. 

“Yes ma’am. How’s Kakashi doing? The others are on their way back. We will dig you two up as soon as possible.” Pakkun said.

“He’s not doing too good.” Naome replied. She absentmindedly stroked the male’s silver hair as he continued to breathe lightly. “He’s most definitely injured his back. He tried to block the boulders from squishing me when the walls caved in. Is Sakura on her way?”

“Yeah. She’ll be here any minute now. We should wake him up.” 

Gently, Naome placed her palm on the side of Kakashi’s face and rubbed his cheek with her thumb. She didn’t really want to shake his body in fear that it might hurt him more. “Sensei, you need to wake up now.” 

She continued to lightly tap his face, and soon, Kakashi’s eyes started to flutter open. He had woken up to a foreign feeling. He had never felt another person touch his face before as he always had his mask on. It kind of felt...nice. The situation began to dawn on him again as his recollection came back about where he was and who he was with. He became increasingly aware of how much pain he felt in his back as he was snapped back into reality.

Kakashi made a move to sit up and Naome helped him. He pulled his mask back on over his face and lit a fire on his palm again. Finally, they were able to see again.

Pakkun was relieved to find that his master could still manage to cast jutsus and hold his body together, though he was still worried about the internal damage. 

“They’re here.” Pakkun said as he sniffed the air. Almost on cue, Naome could hear a bunch of noise on the other side of the collapsed entrance. She could hear Sakura and Naruto calling out to them as they desperately began to move the rocks. The other ninja hounds also helped to dig. 

After a few moments, they began to see a crack of sunlight coming from the direction of the voices. It was high up, higher than Naome had originally thought. She didn’t realize they had fallen so far into the hideout.

“You need to get ready, girl.” Pakkun said as he watched the action above. “The more rocks they remove from the top, the more unstable the pile of rocks around us will be. Once they make a big enough hole, you need to carry Kakashi out of here in case the whole structure collapses.”

Just as he said that, more and more rubble began to break off from the rocks on the wall and the top. As the ray of light started to get bigger, and more blinding, Naome turned to her sensei who was already attempting to stand up. He couldn’t really though, as his lumbar vertebrae had been damaged and he was in extreme pain whenever he moved.

Naome quickly gathered their things. Pakkun grabbed Kakashi’s bag in his mouth as Naome carried hers on her front. She positioned herself in front of the stubborn jonin and squatted. Kakashi let out a defeated sigh before he loaded himself onto her back, wincing in pain as he was tossed a bit and repositioned in order for her to adjust to his weight. Naome almost stumbled back at first because Kakashi was a good amount taller than her, but she held on and positioned herself. 

The opening began to get slightly wider and the rocks continued to fall more and more. Naome was scared that the falling rubble would hit Kakashi. 

“Ready...go! We’ve got to go now!” Pakkun called as he began to hop in an agile manner, from rock to rock upwards. Naome instantly jumped as high as she could reach and began leaping from surface to surface as well. The Earth seemed to be shaking now. More pieces were falling down, making it harder for her to find footholds to go upward. They had just barely managed to escape when all the loose boulders caved in and filled the cave that they were just standing in moments ago.

Naome finally breathed out a sigh of relief when she met the faces of her teammates who looked just as worn out as she was. 

“Did you find him?” Naome asked. They didn’t have to answer, she could already tell from their reaction. Sasuke was gone. They had failed their mission.

“Let’s go home.”

\---

The trip back to Konoha felt longer than on their way there. The solemn atmosphere made it so that not many conversations took place. Instead, they just focused on getting back as soon as possible. Naruto had to carry Kakashi most of the way, only swapping occasionally when he was too tired to continue.

Naome was worried about her sensei’s condition, but Sakura assured her that everything looked and felt fine when she did a quick examination. Of course, she couldn’t guarantee it for sure until they brought him back to the hospital where Tsunade would be able to give a more precise diagnosis.

It wasn’t just his physical condition though, Kakashi had refused for days to sleep at night. He would insist that he’d still take a watch shift in order to hold up his duties since he was not able to help otherwise in setting up camp and gathering food.

Naome too couldn’t fall asleep. She pretended to close her eyes every night, but she was well aware of Kakashi’s gaze on her. She wondered if Kakashi remembered what had happened in the cave, but alas, the conversation never came up. In fact, it felt like during regular hours of the day, Kakashi was intentionally avoiding her.

After the first two days of nothing but essential and brief conversations exchanged between them, Naome was determined to get an idea of what was on his mind. So on the last night of their trip, Naome stayed up with Kakashi during their watch. 

They sat silently on their blankets in front of the fire while the other two were sleeping soundly not far away. 

“You really should get some sleep,” Naome said, trying to start a conversation. She knew it would be of no use because for whatever reason, despite his physical condition, Kakashi stubbornly refused. 

“I’m okay.” A long stretch of silence ensued, making Naome more on edge. She peaked over at the man sitting next to her, purposely holding her stare for an extended amount of time. She was sure he had noticed already, but it’s as if he chose to avoid eye contact. The idea hurt Naome a bit inside. It wasn’t as if she chose to fall in love with him, and she never expected their relationship to grow anymore than just a student-teacher or that of colleagues. But she also never expected it to be worse than what it was before. 

Naome could deal with the idea of Kakashi not remembering their kiss, but what hurt her the most was the fact that it wasn’t like he didn’t remember, but he was purposely trying to ignore what had happened. 

Naome watched as he shifted his weight a bit, wanting to lean back onto his palms, but he winced in pain in the process. Without a word, she got up and sat cross-legged behind him. A glow sprouted in her hands as she pressed them gently against his back. 

He leaned away. “You don’t have to.”

“...Just let me.” Her voice barely cut through to the surface as she pleaded. She needed a sign, any sign, that things would be okay between them. Kakashi didn’t move or speak again so she continued administering the treatment silently throughout the night.

\---

They got back to Konoha the next day and reported directly to the Hokage’s office. Tsunade watched as the team walked in with a depressing aura around them, and judging by their numbers, she could guess what had ensued during the mission.

“Forgive us Lady Hokage, we have failed our mission.” Kakashi started. Tsunade narrowed her eyes as she scanned the broken ninja who was literally leaning onto Naruto for support. “We were unable to bring back Sasuke Uchiha. They knew we were coming. We found their hideout and confronted them. He had no interest in returning and threatened to attack us if we followed him again.”

“Kakashi,  _ what happened to you _ ?!” Tsunade sneered. She had never seen the jonin be so injured in all the time that she had known him since he was a kid.

“I’m fine-”

“No you’re not,” Naome disputed, “Lady Hokage, it was my fault that he got injured-”

“Naome!” Kakashi cut her off, giving her a stern look. Naome backed down and mumbled an apology. Kakashi turned to Tsunade, “when Sasuke and Orochimaru escaped, they set a trap and blew up the hideout. Naome and I fell into a cave and I was hit by a few rocks on the way down. It’s nothing, I’ll be fine in a day or two.”

Tsunade eyed the interaction between Naome and Kakashi. She knew that Kakashi was downplaying his injuries and that the two of them were hiding the true severity of the scenario to her. Tsunade went behind Kakashi and placed a palm on his back. Naome bit her lower lip nervously as she knew what was coming.

“Ahh!” Kakashi yelled in pain as the hokage pressed her palm into his spine. Naruto almost dropped him in shock.

Tsunade turned to look at the new ninja, “Naome, what happened?”

Naome gave one more nervous look at Kakashi before she turned to Tsunade. “The ground collapsed under us after Sakura and Naruto began pursuing Sasuke. When we fell into the cave, Kakashi propped himself over my body and many boulders fell onto his back. He did it to protect me, my lady.”

Tsunade wanted so badly to lecture the team captain on how reckless he was to send half his team after Sasuke while he remained in that condition for an extended period of time, but she held herself back. Instead, she started storming towards her office door. She threw it open and looked behind her, “Naruto, let’s go. We’re taking him to the hospital  _ now _ .”

\---

Naruto and Naome waited anxiously outside of the hospital room where Sakura and Tsunade were examining Kakashi. Naome watched the door endlessly, waiting to hear the good or bad news that was about to come.

“It’s not your fault, y’know?” Naome looked up to find Naruto giving her a reassuring smile. “Kakashi is just that type of person. He was always nagging us since day one that comrades come first. It’s engraved in him to put himself in harm’s way to save us.”

Naome leaned back into her seat. “I know, but I can’t help but feel guilty. Besides, I’m worried about him because he’s stubborn. He clearly didn’t want Lady Tsunade to know that he was badly injured.”

Naruto laughed, “you got that right. It’s like you’ve known him just as long as we have.”

Naome smiled. She couldn’t help but feel more relaxed and comforted around the presence of Naruto and his cheerful personality.

The door swung open moments later, and immediately, Naome and Naruto were on their feet. Judging by the look on Tsunade’s face, they knew it was severe. Sakura followed her out of the room and closed the door behind them.

“Naome, Naruto, Sakura, until I say so otherwise, your team will be kept away from missions for a while. You can continue training on your own, but Kakashi will not be allowed to train with you.” Tsunade commanded in a way that no one dared to argue.

“So...how is he?” Naome asked. 

The look on Tsunade’s face softened a bit as she explained, “In the long run, he will be fine. For now, the damage on his back is causing him pain with any type of movements he makes. He will be able to walk, though barely, but his shoulder blades will take a while to heal. The muscles surrounding it are a bit damaged as well, so he will have a hard time lifting his arms. I reset his spine a bit and did some inner tissue work. Luckily, his nerves are fine. He will just have to take his pain numbing medication for now, and apply an ointment that I’m giving him. You can go in and see him if you want, but he’s fallen asleep already.”

Naome let out a breath of relief, knowing that there was no permanent damage, and that eventually, he would heal from this. “Thank you, Lady Tsunade.”

When Tsunade and Sakura left, Naome and Naruto entered the room. Kakashi was indeed sound asleep under the covers of the hospital bed. Naome could see some of the bandages that were wrapped around his torso as they peaked out from under the cover. The bed was tilted up slightly so that the pressure on his back would be lessened. Naome’s heart felt heavy seeing someone who was so strong suddenly look so vulnerable.

Both Naruto and Naome watched over their sensei for a bit before they decided to leave. The sun was setting already, and they had not eaten the whole day.

When Naome got back to the Nara residence, she had fully expected Shikamaru to be running out towards her, but only his parents greeted her at the door. They hugged her and welcomed her home. When they saw her searching eyes, they couldn’t help but giggle. 

“Are you looking for Shikamaru?” Yoshino asked. “He’s out on a mission right now. He went out a few days ago so he should be in Sunagakure by now.” 

“Oh yeah…” Naome remembered Shikamaru had mentioned he was going to go on a mission soon as well, but she didn’t realize when. She was really hoping that he would be home when she arrived.

She spent the rest of the evening dining with her aunt and uncle. Yoshino promised she would cook up a big meal the next day to celebrate her return because she didn’t realize Naome would be coming home that evening. “Thank you auntie.” 

They also mentioned how worried they were the entire time, and how glad they were that she was home. Shikaku had asked her how the mission went, and she told him in detail the entire interaction they had with Sasuke Uchiha and Orochimaru. He sighed, “Well, we can’t say that’s a failed mission. You did manage to gather information, and most of all, you all came back safe despite injuries.” Naome felt reassured by his words and found herself relaxing again for the first time in a week.

After dinner, she took a nice long shower, scrubbing off the dirt and grime that had gathered during the mission. She then said goodnight to the family and headed down the hall. She was about to make a turn for her room when she decided otherwise. Shikamaru wasn’t home but she truly needed to feel his warmth at that moment. 

She entered Shikamaru’s room and crawled under the covers into her side of the bed. The bed felt empty without him, but it also felt better than being in her own room. Too much had gone on in the past few days. She had felt love and acceptance, but at the same time, she had felt lonely and heartbroken. She was so confused about what had happened with Kakashi, and in all truth, she didn’t know what she wanted to happen with her and Kakashi either. 

Her arm reached out to grasp at the empty sheets where Shikamaru usually laid. 

“Shika...I wish you were here right now.”


	10. Chapter 10

The next two days were slow for Naome. Shikamaru hadn’t returned to the village yet, and she wasn’t able to do any real training. Even when she would go to the training grounds with her peers, her mind would often drift off in worry about the man in the hospital, and the man that was out on a mission. So many thoughts crossed her mind that she often spent hours just on the rooftop, staring at the clouds and thinking. 

During her reflection, she had realized that indeed, she had fallen in love with Kakashi, but she did not want to act upon it. She tried her best to resist, often refraining herself from visiting him in the hospital. It was wrong, she knew, to be thinking about her sensei in such a way. It wasn’t the age gap that bothered her, but there were so many other issues. 

For one, she didn’t know much about Kakashi. Even though they spent a lot of time talking the first night, he never opened up to her about his past, and judging from his nightmares, she knew there was a lot to unpack. The other thing was, he was her sensei for goodness sakes. It was taboo for such a relationship to exist, not that they even had one. In addition, it was clear that Kakashi was not interested. Ever since their kiss in the cave, he had pretended to not remember and continued to take extra care in avoiding her. Clearly, he didn’t think this would work out either. 

Lastly, she had Shikamaru. Shikamaru who she loved beyond what anyone could comprehend. Even she couldn’t fully understand the feelings that she had for him. She just knew they were meant to be. She needed him in her life, and him and his family gave her life. It broke her to even consider hurting him. If he had even known about her feelings about Kakashi, she felt that her own heart would shatter along with him. She had headaches just thinking about the entire scenario. In the end, it should have been simple. Kakashi and her were just teacher and pupil, and teammates at most. Despite what her heart said, she convinced herself to keep it that way.

On the third day back from the mission, Naome decided to suck it up and finally visit Kakashi in the hospital. She spent the entire walk there readying herself and closing her heart off, but when she got to the front counter to check in, Kakashi was gone.

“Sorry, what do you mean he’s not here?” Naome questioned the nurse at the front. All staff at the hospital had already known her by now because of the extended period of time she spent at the hospital when she first arrived. The nurse shuffled through a few papers before she responded.

“It looks here like he was discharged this morning….” she looked just as puzzled as Naome was, “um...would you like to speak to Sakura-chan about it?”

“Yes, please.” 

Naome found Sakura in her doctor’s office where she had been spending a lot of her time now that there was less need for training. Her pink haired friend told her that Kakashi had stubbornly refused to stay any longer and demanded to be released to go home. In other words, he discharged himself from the hospital. Both the girls sighed in frustration, knowing just how difficult their sensei could be. 

“Would you like to visit him?” Sakura said, “I can give you his address. I need someone to check up on him anyways to make sure he’s taking his medicine and applying his ointment correctly.” 

“Yeah, sure.” Naome agreed despite the anxious feeling she had about being alone with Kakashi in his apartment, but Sakura was right, someone did need to check up on him. 

When Naome left the hospital, she dropped by the market to grab some ingredients to make lunch for the shinobi. She didn’t know if he had even eaten yet, but she had to at least make sure that he was okay.

Naome knocked on the door to his apartment and waited. It took a while, and there seemed to be no answer so she raised her knuckles to try again when suddenly the door swung open. 

“Oh! Naome-chan, it’s you.” Kakashi was surprised to find the kunoichi at his doorstep. He didn’t really know who to expect, maybe a nagging Sakura, but certainly not her. “Um...what are you doing here?”

Not knowing what to say, Naome awkwardly held up the bags of groceries that were in her hand. “I dropped by the hospital and you weren’t there. I figured you might need some food.”

She couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed when Kakashi didn’t make a move to let her in. Instead, he stood squarely in front of the door. “Oh thanks, but I ate already.”

“Oh…” Naome was scrambling for what to say next, and was about to excuse herself when suddenly she could hear a distinct stomach growl. She looked up at her sensei who was now awkwardly avoiding her gaze, a light tinge of pink peeked over the edge of his mask.

Naome sighed, “you’re so stubborn.” She pushed her way past the older ninja, which he easily gave in to as he was not in the proper shape to contest. Awkwardly, he closed the door and sat at his dining table as he watched the woman work efficiently with the ingredients that she brought over. It’s almost as if she had been there before and knew where everything was already. He had never had anyone enter his home to take care of him like this. Sure, he’s brought a girl home for single nights, but for some reason, and he hated to admit it, but he was already enjoying having Naome’s presence in his home. 

“Here you go!” Kakashi was shaken from his thoughts when a small bowl and a plate were placed in front of him. Naome then walked away and returned with her own set of food. “It’s not much, but I hope it’s okay.”

Kakashi stared at the food in front of him. Miso soup with eggplant, and a plate of chicken, egg, and rice. “How did you know?” he asked as he eyed the soup.

“Sakura-chan told me,” Naome replied as she took a sip of said soup. She cringed, “Ugh, that tastes gross. Next time I’m just gonna put the eggplant on the side for you.”

Kakashi began to eat in silence. He could feel Naome’s eyes watching him at first, and he couldn’t help but to give her a smile. The food was good. It tasted like home, something he hadn’t had in a while. The room was filled for the next ten minutes with nothing but sounds of chewing and utensils hitting dishes. 

When Kakashi made a move to stand up after he was done, Naome broke the silence. “Sit. Let me do it.” He couldn’t even protest before Naome grabbed his empty bowl and plate and began cleaning up. Kakashi decided to go to the couch instead and he popped a pill of his medication into his mouth. 

Naome joined him after she was done. She looked around the apartment and noticed that it was immaculately clean. The only problem was though, it was empty. Not empty in the sense of furniture, but more in the sense of personal touches and memories. The only type of memorabilia there was, was a small picture on the shelf in the corner with what looked like a young Kakashi and his team on it. She had wondered who else was in the picture, as she had never seen any of those people in the village before, but she didn’t pry any further. 

Silence still filled the room and she hated it. She had really hoped that because a few days had passed already, things would begin to return back to normal. At that moment, she would have wanted any sense of normalcy back, even if that meant bickering like fools the entire time. “How are you feeling?” 

“I’m feeling a lot better.” It was a lie. Naome could see the way he was sitting on the couch, his back just gingerly leaning on the cushion behind him. He looked like a mess too. 

“Did you put the ointment on yet?” she asked, eyeing the bottle that was next to his pain capsules.

“No. I don’t need it.” Naome quirked an eyebrow at his response before she got up and stood in front of him. Kakashi met her eyes in confusion. 

“Are you sure you don’t need it?” Naome asked again, almost in a warning tone. Kakashi nodded. Sighing, she reached out and grabbed his right arm, lifting it up. She hadn’t even gotten it to 90 degrees yet before Kakashi flinched and yelped in pain. “You need to put the ointment on.”

“No, I’m fine.” Kakashi said. “I’ll be fine in a few days.”

Naome couldn’t bear it anymore, her heart hurt from seeing him in pain. She kneeled down in front of him and placed her hands on his knees, as she looked directly into his eyes. “Please,” she begged. 

Kakashi didn’t resist, instead, he stared back into her eyes. He placed his hands on her’s and relished in the warmth that it provided. He knew he shouldn’t be doing this, but he didn’t stop himself despite his best judgement. “Help me.” 

When she didn’t reject him, he took his hands away from hers and reached to pull his shirt off. He couldn’t get it very far before the pain kicked in. He bit his lower lip and braced himself through the pain. His arms froze, when he felt another pair of soft hands reach his and gently released his fingers. He gave in, and allowed the younger shinobi to pull his shirt off for him. She worked gently and slowly, allowing him to adjust whenever necessary. This didn’t stop him from crying out in pain at the very top, but it did help ease some of the pain. 

Naome looked at the long bandage that was wrapped around his torso. She unraveled the white spoiled cloth bit by bit, revealing Kakashi’s bare chest in front of her. 

“Wow…” she whispered out of instinct. Kakashi’s body was lean, like she had expected, but a lot more tone than she thought. He had quite defined abs despite his skinnier figure. The thing that stuck out to her the most though, were the scars that were littered throughout his body. She hesitantly reached out to touch a particularly deep one that was on his right ribs. Kakashi shivered when he felt the contact. Naome’s curious eyes looked up to meet his as if she was asking permission. When he didn’t say anything, she returned to tracing the scars, wondering what types of experiences he must have gone through to receive them. The entire time, she was hyperaware of the fact that Kakashi was watching her, his hands now relaxed at his side. 

It took a moment, but Naome realized that she could see the bruises crawling along Kakashi’s ribs from his sides. Snapping out of her daze, she realized she had yet to see the damage that had been done to his back. “Kakashi, turn around.”

Kakashi looked at Naome wearily. He didn’t want her to see his back knowing that it probably looked just as bad as it felt, especially now that the bruises had time to blossom and kick in. “Are you sure you want to see?” He asked. 

“Stand up, and turn around.” She repeated. Hesitantly, he got to his feet, and turned so his back was to Naome. She couldn’t help gasp at the sight in front of her. Tears started rapidly forming in her eyes as she took in the scene. The boulders must have broken a few of his ribs, she realized, as she could see the way the bruising crawled along in a horizontal pattern. The rest of his pale skin was tint in large patches of purple-black from the damage of broken bones and injured muscles. She could see a particularly aggressive looking bruise on both of his shoulder blades which were also swollen beyond recognition. 

Her tears fell as she wept for the man in front of her and the amount of pain he must have been going through, all because he was protecting her.

“This is why I didn’t want to show you.” Kakashi said, his head dropped, almost in shame when he heard the girl crying. “It’s not as bad as it looks, I swear.” 

When she was inconsolable, he turned around and took one of her hands in his. He wanted to hug her, but he couldn’t lift his arms. “Hey, look at me,” his heart dropped when he saw how distraught she was, “I’m going to be fine. Watch, in a few weeks you’ll be bickering with me again on the battlefield.”

They stayed like this for a bit before Naome was able to compose herself again. When she did, she went to grab a wet washcloth before wiping Kakashi’s upper body down with it. She imagined he hadn’t been able to truly shower since he got home from the mission. Afterwards, she helped him apply the medical ointment onto his back, smoothing it as gently as possible over the bruises. Kakashi allowed her to work in silence. 

“Will you allow me to stay for a few days to help you around the house? You can’t even cook and take care of yourself.” Naome said, breaking the silence. She only had the courage to bring up the topic because Kakashi was facing away from her the entire time.

“No, I’m going to be fine.” Kakashi said.

“But look at you, you can’t even put on the ointment, or lift your arms, and you can barely walk-”

“Naome…” Kakashi cut her off in a soft tone. “Think about what you’re asking.”

“I know what I’m asking. I’m asking if you need help.”

“And what do you think Shikamaru would say?” Kakashi insisted.

“I’m not suggesting anything more, I’m just saying, let me help you here for a few days. Besides, Shikamaru isn’t in town right now. He’s out on a mission and he won’t be back for a while anyways. Even if he was home, he would understand. He helped me out a lot before when I couldn’t walk. He would understand that I’m trying to help you recover.”

Kakashi sighed and turned around, meeting her eyes. “Naome. I don’t think Shikamaru would be very happy with you staying at another man’s house.” He let out a deep breath and continued, “Do you know how much he loves you? I can see it in the way that he looks at you.”

“Yeah...I know.” She replied silently. She turned around and walked away. Kakashi turned around again, scolding himself because he wasn’t sure why he had brought up the chunin ninja in the first place. There was a long, heavy silence before he felt Naome return. She began to bandage him up again with a new wrap, without a word. 

Once she was done, Kakashi watched as she went back into the kitchen to cook up another meal. “For tonight and tomorrow.” She explained quietly, avoiding eye contact with him. He wasn’t sure if she was angry at him or not, so to avoid the tension in the room, he decided to go lie down in his bed room. 

He flopped down on his bed, and thought about everything that had happened since the moment they went on the mission. Everything was so frustrating. He had never expected any of this to happen when he got news of the new shinobi joining his team. He was about to doze off when the sounds in the kitchen suddenly went quiet. He could hear her footsteps approaching his room and he continued to close his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

The girl paused for a while before she turned around and walked towards the door. He heard a bit more shuffling, and then the door opened, and closed. She was gone.

Kakashi let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding. Why was he doing this, he asked himself. He knew the girl had a crush on him for a while now, ever since they had met basically. The entire time, he had kept her at an arm’s distance, not wanting to entertain the thought because he knew it was wrong of him, as his sensei, to give her hope about this taboo relationship.

Deep inside though, he knew the truth. Ever since his teammates and sensei had passed away, he had kept everyone at a distance, even his own colleagues, students, and comrades. Now, he was frustrated with himself, because when finally, there was someone good for him that wanted to be in his life, he had intentionally pushed her away.


	11. Chapter 11

Despite what Kakashi said, Naome returned the next day, the day after, and the day after that. She never stayed the night, as promised, but she showed up every day around lunch time to prepare food for her teacher, help him apply ointment, and change his bandage. She would then prepare his next two meals and return back to the Nara residence to have her own dinner. Ever since the first day, Kakashi and Naome never brought up their previous conversations again. They mainly just made small talk while Naome helped him out throughout the apartment.

Shikamaru had not returned from his mission yet, but Naome’s worries were pushed aside because Tsunade had received confirmation from the Hidden Village of the Sand that Shikamaru had arrived safely, and was being well taken care of. Shikaku had mentioned that the negotiations were going well, and Shikamaru was a key figure in all of the deals being made. This made Naome feel a sense of pride for her love.

About five or six days after Kakashi was discharged from the hospital, Sakura and Naruto decided they also wanted to tag along to visit their teacher. So after their training one morning, the three of them walked into town together to grab some groceries for a large meal that they could make together. 

Naome was busy talking to Sakura about setting up a time to learn more medical ninjutsu, when suddenly Naruto’s voice called out. “Well, well! Look who’s back!”

Both the girls turned their attention in front of them to find Shikamaru and another female shinobi standing a few meters away from them. Immediately, Naome’s face lit up as she approached the man whom she had missed so much.

“Welcome back!” She said. She turned to face the girl that was next to him. “Who’s this?”

Naruto giggled as he joined the group, “Shikamaru, you sneaky guy. Are you two….” He pointed at the lazy genius and his companion.

Sakura came up behind him and gave him a quick punch in the arm, enough to send him flying back a few feet. “You ignorant and inconsiderate fool.”

Naome continued to look between Shikamaru and the stranger that stood silently in front of them. Usually by now, Shikamaru would have went in for a hug, maybe even more, but he just stood there awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. “So….” Naome hinted, staring at Shikamaru for an answer.

Suddenly, it occurred to Shikamaru what she meant and what Naruto had implied. “N-no. I-it’s not what you think,” he stammered to reply, “Naome, it’s really not. This is Temari, she’s from the Hidden Sand Village and she’s here to talk to Lady Tsunade about the treaty. I’m just her guide.”

“Oh...it’s okay.” Naome would have been lying if she had said she wasn’t feeling a bit uneasy looking at the two, but again, it wasn’t like her and Shikamaru had decided to make anything official. She wasn’t going to lie, it would have hurt her to find out that Shikamaru did have feelings for this woman that was standing in front of her. She pushed those thoughts aside though, and stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you Temari-san, my name is Naome.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Temari replied as she accepted the gesture. She turned to Sakura and Naruto and greeted them as well, “Long time no see.”

Huh, so she knows them from before, Naome thought. It was yet again another one of those moments where she wished she would have been in Konoha since the beginning.

“What are you guys up to?” Shikamaru asked, mainly addressing Naome and the large amount of grocery bags his friends were holding in their hands. “We were about to go grab some lunch, did you guys want to come?”

There was a sudden throbbing in Naome’s chest when she heard that Shikamaru was going to go out with this woman one-on-one, but she tried to ignore it. They must have been hungry after a long journey anyways, she told herself. Her reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Shikamaru’s eyes though.

“We were just about to go visit Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura said, “He got injured on our last mission so we decided to help make some lunch for him and check on him.”

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at the news. “Kakashi-sensei got injured? Is it serious?”

“It was serious, but it’s getting better now,” Naome replied. “I can tell you in more detail later.” 

Shikamaru nodded. “Well, I guess I’ll let you guys go then. Tell Kakashi-sensei I said hi.” 

“We will! Make sure you get some rest Shikamaru. Nice to see you again Temari,” Sakura said. She gave Naome a light shove in the direction of Shikamaru before she began walking off, dragging a yelping Naruto behind her. Anyone that was in a mile radius could sense the sudden tension between Naome and Shikamaru, and Sakura sure as hell didn’t want to be in the middle of it.

Naome stood awkwardly, watching her friends go ahead without her. She glanced at Shikamaru, unsure whether or not it was appropriate to be hugging him in front of this stranger or not. Afterall, she didn’t know where they, themselves stood, and what the relationship between the other two were. “Well, I guess I gotta go too then.” She said.

Shikamaru sighed. _Screw it_ , he thought. Screw his pride, who cares who saw? He just wanted to hug the girl that he missed so much and spent days on end worrying about. He reached out and pulled Naome into a bear hug, nuzzling his face into her soft hair. “I missed you.”

Naome finally broke free of her dilemma and hugged him back too. She had missed the familiar warmth. “I missed you too.” 

Shikamaru held onto her so tight, she thought she would break, but at the same time, it felt so good. She never realized how much she needed him with her. Not wanting to make the situation too awkward for the stranger, Naome broke the hug after a bit. She smiled up to Shikamaru, “I gotta go, but I’ll see you at home tonight?”

Shikamaru nodded, “definitely. I’ll see you at dinner.” With that, he watched as Naome walked off in the direction her team had disappeared to. 

\---

When Naome got to Kakashi’s apartment, she found her teammates still waiting outside their teacher’s door. They were deciding whether to knock or not when Naome came up from behind them. She gave her teammates a confused look before she knocked on the door herself. 

“We thought if we went in without knocking, we might be able to see Kakashi’s sensei’s face without his mask, y’know!” Naruto explained. Naome laughed at how desperate Naruto seemed. Little did they know, she had already seen his bare face before.

The door swung open to reveal a still masked Kakashi. Naome giggled when she saw Naruto and Sakura’s shoulders slump in disappointment. Kakashi was about to walk away from the door, but did a double take. He had fully expected Naome to be coming so he almost just opened the door and went back inside, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw his two other students who were standing with her.

“What the…” he trailed off just as Sakura and Naruto gave a brief greeting and invited themselves in. Kakashi turned to look at Naome who was left standing at the door with a sheepish grin on her face.

“Sorry, I should have told you they were coming, but it was an impulse decision that we made after training this morning.” Naome explained. “Oh and...they don’t know that I come here like...everyday so I couldn’t just tell them that I would have to ask you first. You know what I mean?”

Kakashi sighed and stepped inside, allowing his last student in the door. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his students, or that he didn’t appreciate the gesture. It was more that he had wanted to rest for the day and Sakura and Naruto were just not the most...quiet ones, especially when they were in the same room together. Naome, on the other hand, he had gotten used to having over. Also, they weren’t exactly on the best speaking terms, so he had his peace and quiet when she was around. 

Naome set off to work on their lunch as soon as she entered the apartment. “Do you need any help?” Sakura asked. Naome shook her head. At that point, she had already gotten used to the ins and outs of Kakashi’s apartment, and she figured having helpers would only slow her down.

Instead, Sakura decided to sit Kakashi down on the couch and take a look at his wounds. Naruto was talking animatedly with his teacher as Sakura helped Kakashi out of his shirt and bandages. Naome had to remind herself to stay focused on the food when Sakura revealed Kakashi’s toned chest again. One would think that after a few days she would have been used to seeing him shirtless already, but in the end, she couldn’t help but still take peeks. 

“Wow sensei,” Naome heard Sakura say from the living room, “it’s healed quite a bit! The swelling is more than halfway gone, and you bandaged it really well. Did someone help you with this?”

Naome peeked an eye over to see Kakashi facing her as Sakura helped him apply a new layer of ointment. He sent Naome a smirk and a wink, “Nope. I did it myself.”

Naome couldn’t help but chuckle silently as she turned away, a light blush making its way to her cheeks. It had been a while since she had seen a genuine playful smile from Kakashi so she was thankful for the fact that things were at least returning a least a little back to normal.

She finished up the meal and set all the components on the table. There were plates of grilled beef, Japanese pancakes, stir fried soba noodles, some veggies, and of course eggplant and miso soup (yes, separated this time). Naruto was the first one over once he had smelled the food that was on the table. “Wow Naome-chan! This looks so good!”

“Thank you!” Naome said, “Shikamaru’s mother teaches me a lot of cooking at home so most of these are her recipes.”

“Wow, I wish my mom made food this good,” Sakura chimed in.

“Yeah, I guess you can say she’s like a mother to me.” Naome smiled at the thought as she packed the extra food and placed it in the refrigerator for Kakashi.

“She will be when you two get married.” Naome flushed bright red at Sakura’s words. It wasn’t like she hadn’t imagined it before, especially with the bond that her and Shikamaru had, as well as the fact that they were already living together with his parents. It still made her heart flutter at the possibility though. 

“Kakashi-sensei, where are the cups? I want some water.” Naruto said as he walked over to the kitchen area. 

“Oh, they’re in the top cupboard. The furthest one on the right.” Naome instinctively chimed in. She almost immediately regretted it. She didn’t want to seem too familiar with the apartment. Luckily, the oblivious blonde shinobi didn’t think twice about it.

“Thanks Naome-chan!” 

The team spent the next hour or so dining together and talking cheerfully. Kakashi began to open up to his students, deciding to be thankful rather than “a grumpy grandpa,” as his team put it. They joked around, often at Naruto’s expense, making the atmosphere a lot more positive than it had been ever since the Sasuke mission started. 

After lunch, Sakura and Naruto busied themselves with checking out Kakashi’s apartment and collection of novels as Naome did the dishes. The two had offered to help her out, but she didn’t mind doing it on her own. It was something that she was used to anyways. She jumped when she felt the presence of someone next to her.

“Need help?” the deep voice rumbled, sending a shiver down her back. Kakashi leaned on the counter right next to where the sink was and watched her work diligently.

“No, I’m okay,” she replied. “You should go take a rest.”

“I’ve been doing that the whole week. Besides, those two are in my room right now. Rest would be out here where it’s quiet.”

Naome chuckled, “you grumpy grandpa.”

“I guess I am,” he agreed. Silence fell over them. Naome could sense Kakashi watching her the whole time which made her nervous. He had never spent this much time talking to her during any of the other days she was over. She usually just did her thing while he sat in the living room or laid down in his bedroom. 

“Thank you.” Kakashi’s voice spoke with as much sincerity as he could manage. He felt guilty since the first day, that he had treated the kunoichi so coldly. Despite all that, she still came to help him out, making his recovery quick and stress-free. His back and shoulders still hurt when he moved, making daily living difficult, and he knew he wouldn’t have been able to heal so smoothly without her. 

“You’re being silly, what is there to thank me for?” Naome replied as she kept her eyes trained on rinsing the dishes and setting them on the drying rack.

“For everything.” He meant it in ways even she didn’t know. For helping him physically, for keeping him company while he was stuck at home, for returning even though he had stubbornly kicked her out, and for being there for him despite the fact that he kept keeping her at a distance.

Naome paused her actions as she looked up at the man next to her. The water continued running over her hands as she locked eyes with him. “You saved me Kakashi. Of course I should be helping you.”

_That’s it?_ Kakashi couldn’t help but feel disappointed in her words. _So she thinks she has an obligation to be here?_ He tried not to let it affect him too much. Afterall, what did he expect? He had gotten too accustomed to having her there everyday, and he had to remind himself that this was all going to end. He stuck his hands into his pockets and stood up straight. He walked out of the room, only pausing briefly for a quick, “well, thank you anyways.”

\---

It was late in the afternoon when Naome made it home to the Nara residence. She greeted her aunt quickly before she went upstairs to Shikamaru’s room, knowing the genius would be napping there like he did after every mission. Well...almost every mission. She paused with her hand on his bedroom door knob as she thought about what she had witnessed earlier in the day.

Shikamaru never liked to go out after missions. He didn’t like to go out to eat with the team, even though Choji insisted on celebrating after a successful mission. He didn’t like to catch up with his parents or friends. The first thing he did every time he returned to Konoha was to take a nice long nap, often with Naome at his side. Yet today, he was going out to have lunch with that girl.

“I know you’re there.” 

Naome jumped at the sound of Shikamaru’s voice coming from the other side of the door. She had expected him to be asleep, but clearly, he wasn’t. She turned the door knob and walked in, closing the door again behind her. “I thought you were asleep.” 

He yawned, looking at her with lazy eyes from his spot on the bed. “Nah. I was waiting for you.”

“Oh…” she slowly made her way to the bed and laid down on her side. Shikamaru frowned when he noticed the gap she left between them.

“Is something wrong?” he asked. 

“No...why?” 

Why are women always so bothersome? Shikamaru wondered to himself as he stared into Naome’s eyes, looking for answers. She seemed to be avoiding eye contact though. This made Shikamaru turn away and run his hands through his hair in frustration. He never understood women. Why couldn’t they just be straight forward? All he wanted to do was to come home and cuddle, and yet…

“Shika…” He immediately turned around to face her again at the sound of his name. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” he said. He shuffled closer and leaned in to give her a lingering kiss on the forehead. He still had no idea why she was acting all weird. She seemed distant ever since he saw her on the street around noon-

Realization hit him. The look on her face now matched with the look she was having when she saw him and Termari together in town. It didn’t occur to him at first because he thought he had solved it in the moment but clearly, it was still bothering her.

“Are you upset about this morning?” He asked her. She wouldn’t look at him so he moved closer, tilting her chin until she looked up to meet his eyes. “I told you already, Temari and I are not like that. We are just friends from about three years ago. We met at the chunin exams. Her brother is the Kazekage, so right now, she and I are just co-workers as we get this whole treaty thing resolved.”

“I know but...she’s pretty, and she looks strong. And her brother is the Kazekage?!” All the insecurities were pouring out of Naome now as she took it all in. Naome had been stupid and selfish. She knew that the whole time when she didn’t officially take Shikamaru as her boyfriend (not that he had brought it up). But here she was now, feeling jealous and scared at the possibility of another woman better than her, taking away the man that she loved so much. She didn’t realize it until now, and she was still scared to tell him, but she loved Shikamaru, and she needed him.

All she wanted was some kind of affirmation that he felt it too, but in the end, she still didn’t know what they had. Did he see her as a sister? A friend? Friends with benefits? A lover? His girlfriend? Her mind flashed back to what Sakura had said earlier about Naome becoming Shikamaru’s wife. Did he see it too?

“Hey, look at me.” Naome hadn’t realized she had drifted off in her own thoughts again. Shikamaru kissed her on the lips, clearing her of the rambling that was in her head. “I can’t tell you enough. She means nothing to me. I only want you.”

Do you know how much he loves you? Kakashi’s voice resonated in Naome’s head as she looked at the man in front of her, her insecurities finally fading away.

“I want you too.” She replied before she leaned in and returned the kiss. Their arms wrapped around each other and she found herself relaxing fully. It was magical the way that Shikamaru made her feel. Everything about him felt so warm and perfect.

\---

It didn’t take long for one problem to end and another one to begin. The next conflict started during dinner time when Yoshino asked Naome about Kakashi’s condition. “He’s doing a lot better now.” Naome had replied.

“Well that’s because you’ve been helping him out everyday. I’m sure he’s really grateful for all your help.” 

The comment caught Shikamaru off guard as he froze with his food in his mouth. He gulped it down and turned to Naome with a deep frown on his face. “You never told me that you were visiting Kakashi every day.” 

With all the jealousy talk earlier, Naome had forgotten to bring up the topic of Kakashi and how he had gotten injured in the first place. She didn’t expect Shikamaru to react so strongly to the news anyways. “Well yeah, he can’t cook because he can’t lift his arms and shoulders so I help prepare some food for him at home. Also, Sakura told me he has to put an ointment on his back to help reduce the swelling so I try to help him out as much as I can.”

Shikamaru’s frown grew deeper but he dropped the topic because he knew his parents were watching. They were fond of Kakashi so he knew they would be okay with whatever Naome was helping him with, but for some reason, the news just did not sit well with him.

That night, Shikamaru waited for Naome to climb into bed before he brought up the topic again. “So...how was your mission?”

He immediately felt bad for asking once he saw the depressed look on Naome’s face. “We couldn’t bring him back. We managed to find Sasuke and Orochimaru’s hideout but he threatened to kill us if we ever looked for him again. After that, he got away. Naruto and Sakura tried to go after him but they couldn’t find him.”

“And Kakashi…” 

Naome sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, visibly upset as she recounted the scene in her memory. “When Sasuke and Orochimaru left, they triggered an explosion to blow up the hideout. Kakashi and I fell into a cave and the rocks and rubble on top closed us in. When the boulders were falling, Kakashi shielded me from them and it injured his back in the process.”

“He couldn’t really walk for a few days,” Naome continued, “He also couldn’t really lie down. Lady Tsunade said his spine needed to be reset and his shoulder blades were broken with some of those muscles torn. I think he might have broken a few ribs too.”

“I see.” Shikamaru closed his eyes as he absorbed the information. He felt bad for overreacting earlier at the dining table, but he was indeed jealous to find out that Naome had been visiting another man’s house every day while he was gone. Not to mention, he was infuriated when he heard that she was helping him change his bandages which would mean he was shirtless in front of her on many occasions. 

“He saved my life, Shika. The most I can do is help him.” Naome insisted, seeing how upset Shikamaru looked.

“I know, but why you? Sakura is the doctor, isn’t she?”

“Sakura doesn’t know…”

Shikamaru’s eyes widened, “Sakura doesn’t know you go there every day to help him? You mean you just volunteered to do it yourself?”

“Well...I mean he saved my life afterall.” Naome reasoned. She thought it made sense. Didn’t it make sense to want to help her sensei out as he was recovering?

Shikamaru sighed. He balled his hands into fists under the sheet as he thought it all through. He knew he had lost the argument. There was no reason he could provide her with why she shouldn’t be helping her teacher. It wasn’t that Shikamaru didn’t like Kakashi per se, in fact, he looked up to Kakashi quite a bit for being so smart, experienced, and talented. Kakashi always took care of him well ever since he was a kid so he had no reason to dislike him. Rather, he was simply jealous of the scenario all together, and that frustrated him. 

“I understand,” Shikamaru finally said after a long pause to think things through. “Just remember though, he chose to get in the way of the boulders. I don’t want you to think that you are obligated to look after him for his every need. He’s a grown man and an experienced shinobi, he can also take care of himself.”

“I know.” Naome replied, “I just want to help him out. He doesn’t have any family and he’s living all alone. I didn’t want to just leave him all alone in his apartment. It’s just for now until he recovers”

“I know you mean well.” Shikamaru finally turned around again to face her after having relaxed a bit. “I guess I was just…”

“Jealous?” Naome teased. She watched as a blush bloomed on Shikamaru’s face. He tried to turn away and hide it but Naome crawled closer to him, leaning on her elbow so she could get a better look. “I guess I wasn’t the only one then.”

Shikamaru let a grin spread across his face as he pushed Naome down gently so he could roll over her. “Aren’t we both so silly?” 

Naome reached up to caress Shikamaru’s face. “We are very silly indeed.”

He reached down and gave her a deep kiss, sucking on her bottom lip tenderly. When the two of them broke the kiss, Shikamaru leaned down to press his forehead against Naome’s as they gasped for air. “I’m just glad you’re back safe.”

Naome leaned up to peck him playfully on the lips. “I’m glad you’re back safe too. Welcome home.”

Shikamaru chuckled as he gave Naome one last kiss. 

“Welcome home.”


	12. Chapter 12

It was a month later when Kakashi was finally cleared to do light exercise again as a form of rehabilitation. Subsequently, that also meant that Naome could begin her training again which she had been dying to do. Throughout the entire month, Sakura and Naruto were doing their best to train with her as well, but they often had their own private lessons with the two legendary sannin. Sometimes she would drop by Asuma’s team practice but lately, he was out of town as well. Naome was glad to have her own mentor back because she was hoping to finally be able to learn something new so that she could keep up with her teammates.

“You’re late!” Naome cried as she finally spotted Kakashi walking into the training grounds. Once again, he had his usual book in his hand and walked with zero sense of urgency.

“Oh, give the injured old man a break, would you?” He replied.

“You ain’t that old and you can most definitely walk just fine, “ she snapped back. She was giving him grief about the whole situation but really, she was just relieved that he was back on his feet and able to show up to training again, even if he was only supervising most of the time.

“Shall we begin?” He asked as he took up his usual spot under the tree. Naome refused to acknowledge him and instead, glared at the book in his hand. With a defeated sigh, Kakashi tucked the book into his pocket and crossed his arms, finally having his full attention on the kunoichi in front of him.

Naome pulled out her sword and stood across another tree. She began her usual sword drills, funnelling the wind chakra that she gathered into her blade so that it could slice the bark in front of her. Her training had paid off. Kakashi watched in awe at how fast Naome had picked up the technique as she engraved deep scars in the tree without even making contact with her sword. 

Stepping forward, Kakashi walked about two meters behind where Naome was standing. He took out his kunai and drew a lie line in the dirt. “Great work, Naome-chan. Now every time you master it, I’m going to draw another line back. We are going to start improving the distance of your technique.”

Naome stood behind the line that Kakashi had drawn. Two meters didn’t seem that much further so she had confidence that she could master the new distance in no time. Going into her usual stance, and gathering chakra into her blade, she swung at the same tree in front of her. This time, the attack barely left a scratch on the tree.

Huffing in, she charged up again, this time with more volume and vigor. Once she felt a mass amount of chakra gather, she swung her sword, throwing as much energy out as she could manage. It made it this time alright, but it also blew at all the other trees surrounding it, snapping off a few branches from some of them. The wind had caused the dirt to pick up off the ground, and for the entire area to become a mess.

“Focus,” Kakashi reminded her, now standing under another tree at a safe distance. “You’ve got the power down, now shape it into what you need.”

It took Naome another five tries to get the hang of it, and when she did Kakashi drew another line further back. His intent was to test how far he could push her range that day. Naome’s goal was to destroy her sensei’s expectations and show him just how skilled she truly was.

By noon, much of Naome’s determination had worn off. Kakashi had drawn the line all the way to the other side of the clearing now and Naome couldn’t, for the life of her, reach the tree without blowing the leaves off of every tree in the surrounding area. She was beginning to get worn out, her chakra almost drained from gathering enough to cover such a far distance. 

She sheathed her sword after the final, unsuccessful attempt, and dropped her hands onto her knees to catch her breath. The entire time, Kakashi had been throwing in random comments to help her reach the target but she realized at that moment, that she no longer felt the gaze of the copycat ninja on her. 

She turned to look at the three he was under. She was right, he was no longer watching her train, but rather, sitting on the floor with his precious book in his hands. She narrowed her eyes at her sensei, swearing to God that she was going to burn that book someday. 

“Sensei, put the book away,” she warned. Of course, he didn’t hear her. His eyes continued scanning the pages, deep in thought before he turned another page in his novel.Huffing, Naome marched over to where he sat. “Kakashi-sensei.”

Finally, his eyes looked up at her, now that her shadow was looming over him, blocking the sunlight from his book.

“Gimme that book!” Naome leaned forward, attempting to grab the forsaken novel out of his hand. Her teacher tucked it down to his side, so that it would be too low for her to grab.

“No.” Taking it as a challenge, Naome squatted down quickly so she was at eye-level with him so that she could reach further. This time, Kakashi held it up and further behind his back. He felt a slight pain in his shoulder from stretching it so far, but he couldn’t help but grin at the look on his student’s face as she puffed in frustration. It was fun teasing her. 

Every time she would reach out to grab it with one hand, he would switch it to another, pulling it to another direction that was out of her reach. He always won by a little each time because his limbs were just that much longer than hers. 

“Fine,” he said, finally giving in as he held the book out for her to take it. Naome grinned, reaching out to take the book. Just as her fingertips had barely grazed the cover of it though, he pulled it away again, this time over his head. Determined, Naome lunged after it, but she lost her balance.

With a light thud, Naome fell onto Kakashi’s lap. Her legs spread out on either side of his stretched out ones. Kakashi’s book fell out of his hands as his arms automatically moved to wrap themselves around her waist. Neither of them said a word as they stared at each other in the most intimate way they had ever done before.

Naome relaxed into the position, placing her hands on Kakashi’s shoulder and allowing her weight to rest more on his lap. From the proximity of their faces, Naome eyes could trace every feature of Kakashi’s face that was hidden under his mask. She wanted so desperately to pull the mask down and see it for herself again. She wanted to trace his scar with her fingers and feel the plumpness of his lips on hers. 

Her eyes darted to Kakashi’s again to find that he was doing the same thing as her. He looked nervously at her lips and lingered there, almost as if he was deep in thought. It made Naome wonder if he had remembered the kiss they had shared in the cave before. 

_His dreams still dazed him as he reached out to the figure, holding her face gently in his hands. Naome watched, stunned, as Kakashi closed his eyes and began to lean forward. She knew this was wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop him. He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers._

_Naome shivered from the contact at first, but then closed her eyes, savouring the very touch and moment in front of her. Kakashi kissed her deeply, so much so that she could feel the longing in his actions._

_As quick as it had started, it was over. Kakashi broke the kiss, his head falling to the side and onto Naome’s shoulder._

_“Rin.”_

_Rin..._ Naome wanted to know so badly who that person was that was so important to Kakashi. She wondered who it was that kept haunting him in his nightmares. She wished it wasn’t that girl’s name at that time. She wished it was herself that he saw in his dreams.

Yet here he was this time, so close to her that she could feel his breath reaching her own lips. This time, he wasn’t asleep. This time, he was here with her. 

“Sensei...” Kakashi felt shivers going down his spine at the sound of her voice calling out to him. He could have sworn he felt a sensation going down to his groin which he immediately tried to push away.

“Sensei…” Naome called out again as she stared at the mask in front of her. She wanted so badly to pull it down. She wanted so badly to have his lips on hers again. “I want…”

Kakashi couldn’t look away now, as he felt himself leaning into her. The tips of their noses almost brushed against each other. 

“I want…” she repeated. She took a shaky breath before continuing. “I want that book of yours!”

In a flash, Naome broke apart from the trance and grabbed the novel that had been left, long forgotten on the floor. She quickly got up and hopped off into the middle of the clearing again, holding the book up in victory. She stuck her tongue out at her sensei childishly before she cracked open the book for the first time.

Kakashi’s eyes widened when she did that. He was instantly snapped out of his hazy state as he chased after the girl who was holding his book. Hell would be brought onto him if she found out about the dirty things he was reading about in broad daylight. She would tell all her friends and never let him live it down.

Being the quick ninja that he was, he caught up to her in no time. She continued to turn away from him though, keeping her back to him so that he couldn’t reach it. His panic continued to rise as she continued scanning the book, even though in truth, she wasn’t paying attention to a single word on the page. She was just enjoying the reaction of her teacher too much.

When Naome turned her back to him for the tenth time, keeping it out of his reach, he hopped onto her back. This forced her to piggy-back him as he finally reached over her shoulder and grabbed the book from her hand. He didn’t get off her though, and laughed openly when he saw her struggle.

“Ugh! Get off me you old man. You’re heavy!” She complained as she tried to steady herself. The last thing she wanted to do was drop her sensei, making him injured again.

“No way! You need to continue your training.” Kakashi said, an evil plan developing in his head.

“What training?” She retorted, “how am I supposed to train with your heavy ass on my back?”

“Squats!” He replied, adjusting his body to get a more secure hold on the petite girl. “You need to work on your strength training. Last time we barely made it out of the cave because you couldn’t even pick me up! How are you supposed to save your comrades in battle if you can’t even piggy-back me?”

“Fine! You asked for it!” Naome quickly sunk down, causing Kakashi’s heart to jump out of his chest when he thought he was being dropped. She caught herself and pushed her legs back up. “One!”

Kakashi held on tighter as the girl continued to do her squats. “Two!”

Naome continued purposely dropping low into her squat without rhythm, causing Kakashi to anticipate every drop, and flail every time he felt like she was dropping him. “Three!”

The next time she went down, her legs began shaking to push the weight back up. “Four!”

Kakashi started panicking, feeling her legs tremble as she struggled to squat his entire body weight. “Five!”

“Okay! Okay! I was just kidding, you can let go now!” Kakashi insisted, but his breath got knocked out of him as Naome bent down again. 

“Six!” She called. 

The next one, Kakashi could have sworn she was going to collapse. She took a while to engage her quads and her glutes. Her muscles shook under the weight, and Kakashi watched on, terrified. “Seven!”

“Alright! You win!” He forced himself off her back and heaved a giant sigh of relief. His back was already aching just thinking of what would happen if he had gotten dropped.

Naome burst out laughing at the look on her teacher’s face. That would teach him for calling her weak! Her legs were definitely shaking though. She knew she could do a lot more but not only was it hard to balance with a taller human on top of her, but she was also exhausted from her training. 

Kakashi noticed how tired his student was too and decided to call it a day. “Let’s go out for lunch,” he said.

“Only if you’re treating.” Naome replied with a grin on her face. Kakashi couldn’t help but smile back. He didn’t realize it before, but he had missed speaking to Naome with so much openness again. He was determined not to ruin it this time.

\---

After lunch, the two of them decided to walk around town as Kakashi hadn’t spent much time out in a while. 

“Is there anything in particular you want to look at?” Kakashi asked Naome as they walked through the market. People were selling everything there from little bracelets to novels and art. 

“Nothing really.” Naome said as she scanned the different shops around her. She had only been to this market once with Shikamaru when she had first arrived in Konoha, so she didn’t really remember what they had there. It wasn’t like she was looking for anything in particular either. She just wanted to walk around and grab some fresh air.

“How about that shop over there?” Naome looked up in the direction that Kakashi was pointing in. There was a ninja tool shop in one of the corners next to the alleyway.

“Sure.”

They went into the shop to see many different weapons ranging from simple shuriken and kunais to very elaborate swords and armour. 

“Wow, this is so crazy! Look at all this stuff!” Everything that Naome saw in the store made her want to pick it up and try it out. She wanted to learn how to use everything. 

“Well if it isn’t Kakashi!” The old man behind the counter cheered when he saw the copycat ninja enter the store. Kakashi returned a smile and went to greet the man with a handshake.

“Long time no see, Shunsuke-san.” Kakashi said. 

“What brings you in today?” The shop owner asked as he eyed Kakashi and Naome. 

“I was wondering if you can sharpen a blade for me.” The silver haired ninja replied. He turned to his student and held out his hand. “Naome?”

It took a while for Naome to comprehend, and when she did, she pulled out her sword from its sheath and handed it to her teacher. Kakashi in turn, placed it on the counter in front of the old man who inspected it with great care.

“No problem! I’ll be right back!.” WIth that, he disappeared into the back of the shop. 

Kakashi and Naome continued to look around the store as they waited. “I’ve never had my sword sharpened before,” Naome brought up as she stared at the case with a bunch of shiny new swords in it. 

“Really? When did you get it?” Kakashi asked. He stood next to the girl, pretending to browse the cases as well, but really only paying attention to her words and actions.

“I’ve had it ever since I was 5 years old. It’s the only thing I was handed down from my parents before they passed away.” 

“Oh…” was all Kakashi managed to utter. He figured her parents weren’t in her life, especially now that she was living here in Konoha with the Nara family. He had heard that she had been travelling alone outside the village before she was found, but he didn’t expect to find out that she was orphaned at such a young age. He almost laughed at the dark humour of it all. First Naruto, then Sasuke, now Naome. It was almost like he was placed into their lives to mentor the orphans, considering he was an orphan himself. 

Kakashi watched as Naome eyed one sword in particular in the showcase. The sword was the same size and length as her other one. Both were relatively short, a good length for her. The one in case looked a bit lighter though. He thought it would work wonders with her new wind chakra training as she would be able to conserve a lot of the energy wielding it, and transfer it into her chakra instead. In fact, Kakashi wondered if he would also be able to train her so that she could wield twin blades.

“All done!” The shop owner called as he entered the room again with Naome’s sword. She handed it to the girl who in turn, checked out the fine work. “That’s a wonderful blade you have there.” 

“Thank you, sir.” Naome replied respectfully as she bowed to the shop owner and placed her sword back in its sheath. She turned to look at Kakashi, wondering if there was anything else he had come here for. 

“Shunsuke, how much can I get that blade for?” Kakashi asked, pointing to the exact one that Naome had been inspecting the entire time. 

“I’ll give it to you for 1500 Ryo.” The shop owner said as he held up his prize possession with a smile. “It’s a great sword! Usually I would sell it for a bit more but it’s Kakashi Hatake we’re talking about here.”

Naome stared in awe at the conversation that was taking place. She had no idea that Kakashi was so renowned in the village. She should have figured considering his high rank and the amount of respect the hokage had for him, but she didn’t know that even the common villagers knew him so well.

“Thank you, Shunsuke-san.” Kakashi said as he received the blade from the shopkeeper. 

The old man smiled at him and looked at Naome who stood quietly behind Kakashi. “You’re welcome! It’s for your lovely girlfriend isn’t it?”

Both Kakashi and Naome blushed at the sudden comment. Neither of them could muster out a coherent sentence so Kakashi just threw out another thanks and quickly made his way out of the store. 

The two continue walking in silence, both embarrassed by the remark the shop owner had made. They continued through the marketplace and onto a bridge near the outskirts of the village. There, they stood next to each other, while enjoying each other’s company. 

“Here,” Kakashi said. Naome turned to find him holding out the new sword in her direction. “It’s for you.”

“What? Kakashi, you didn’t have to.” Naome replied, pushing the sword gently back to him. “I already have one.”

“Well now you can use two,” he replied. He looked away, a blush forming on his face. “Just consider it as a thank you gift for helping me out for the past few weeks.”

Hesitantly, Naome accepted the present. She took the sword out of its sheath and held it up to take a good look at the blade. It was lighter than her first sword, and the grip felt comfortable, even in her smaller hands. She immediately fell in love with it. 

“Thank you.” She said, “I really like it.”

“I know.” He replied. Sighing, he stood up and stretched his arms a bit. “C’mon, it’s getting late. I’ll walk you home.”

\---

When the two of them arrived back to the Nara house, Shikamaru had just arrived as well, coming from the other direction. His face lit up as soon as he saw Naome and he ran to greet her. Pulling the girl into a tight hug, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

“How was your day?” He asked. 

“Good!” Naome replied. “I had some productive training with Kakashi today.”

“Oh that’s good.” Shikamaru replied. He eyed the jonin before leaning in and giving Naome a light peck on the lips. A smirk played on his lips as he turned to greet the silver-haired ninja that was standing there watching them awkwardly. “Hey Kakashi-sensei.”

“Hey Shikamaru.” Kakashi said. He looked at the two one last time and cleared his throat. “I’ll be on my way now. Have a goodnight you two.”

With that, the copycat ninja disappeared. 

Naome, oblivious to the whole situation, grabbed Shikamaru’s hand and dragged him into the house. “Come on! I wanna show you my new sword!”

\---

Kakashi made it home just as the sun was setting. He opened the door and was greeted with an empty house...as usual. He went to his room and changed out of his clothes for the day. Throwing on a comfortable t-shirt, he walked to the fridge in his boxers. 

He opened it and sighed. He only had one prepared meal left of Naome’s cooking. As he heated it up, he resigned himself to the fact that he would either have to buy take out on the way home tomorrow or go grocery shopping for the first time in forever. 

He sat at his dining table and ate in silence as he did for dinner every day. Except now, he knew he would also be home alone for all the other times of day as well. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was jealous of Shikamaru. Jealous of the fact that he had a family to return to every day, but most of all, jealous of the fact that he was able to return to her every night. 

Naome had made Kakashi’s lonely life bearable. He had gotten used to the fact that the girl would visit every day and cook for him, and now here he was, all alone again. It’ll go back to normal, he thought to himself. Eventually, everything would. He was sure of it.

When he got into bed that night, he reached for his copy of Makeout Tactics. Right away, he was reminded of the incident that took place earlier. He chuckled to himself as he thought about how silly Naome was as she ran around the clearing, dodging his every move. And then he thought of the moment just before that.

His face flushed red as he felt his boxers grow tighter. A familiar heat was returning to him that he hadn’t felt in a while as he recounted how she felt when she was sitting on his lap, on top of his member. His breath grew heavy as he thought about the way she was staring into his eyes and how warm her hands were as she leaned onto his chest.

Groaning, he threw his book aside and pulled his boxers down, allowing his hardened member to spring free. He grasped it in his dominant hand as he continued to recount the events earlier in the day.

He remembered staring at her lips as they breathed out heavily. He wanted to kiss them so bad. He wanted to suck on her bottom lip and nibble on it until it was bruised and swollen so that if anyone were to see, they would know that she was his. He thought about the way that she felt in his arms and wondered if she would fit perfectly with him in other ways too. 

_“Sensei…”_ she had called out to him, and God how much it turned him on to hear her calling out for him like that. His stroking became faster as he thought about how she would sound if she was screaming out his name as she lay underneath him.

_“I want…”_ he wanted it too. He wanted her so bad at that very moment. He wanted to take her right then and there. He imagined what it would feel like to have her begging for what she wanted. To have her moan as he kissed her neck down to her collarbone. He wanted to take her right then and there. He wanted to feel what it was like to have is cock buried deep inside her. He wanted it so bad… 

Kakashi came with ropes of white liquid spurting all over his hand, bedsheets, and t-shirt. He groaned as he thought about how he would have to do laundry the next day. For the time being, he ripped the sheets off his bed and threw away his t-shirt in favour of a clean one. He slipped his boxers back on and got back into bed on top of his blanket. He placed one hand over his forehead and sighed as he thought about what had just occurred. He groaned in frustration. 

“What am I doing?” 


	13. Chapter 13

A couple months had passed since Kakashi was first seeing his student in ways that he knew he shouldn’t. Yet despite the fact that he got off on the image of her more times than he would admit, things seemed pretty normal between the two. Their friendship had blossomed and they began to spend more and more time together, especially since Shikamaru was gone more often than he was in town. Taking on his new position of a liaison between Konohagakure and Sunagakure, Shikamaru was rarely home which meant Naome was hanging around her teacher more and more regularly. 

It had become routine after a few weeks. Naome and Kakashi would train every morning, at full strength now that Kakashi had recovered fully from his injuries. Naome had become quite efficient at wind style jutsus, and like a true pupil, was beginning to catch onto copying techniques almost as quickly as her teacher. The blade that Kakashi had bought her was now resting in her left hand, and she was beginning to become a strong duo-blade fighter. Kakashi had begun to shower her with praises between the regular bickering, which made Naome ecstatic, and at the same time, strive for more improvement.

After training each day, the two would have lunch together in town or in Kakashi’s apartment, and then spend the rest of the afternoon together; whether that meant walking around town, doing more training, or more often than not, just hanging out in Kakashi’s apartment. This was one of those days.

The teacher-pupil pair had finished their training early in the day and decided to have a home cooked meal for lunch. As Naome set the dishes out, she reminded herself to set aside a portion for her teacher’s dinner so that the hopelessly single old man didn’t have to go out to buy takeout for yet another time that week. 

“Thanks for cooking again,” Kakashi said as he pulled his chair back. He took a seat at the table just as Naome was getting seated into her chair. 

“No problem,” she grabbed a piece of meat and set it on top of her rice bowl, “at least you’re starting to help now. I can’t imagine what would happen to you in the future if I weren’t here to keep cooking meals for you.”

Kakashi bit back his disappointment at the idea and faked a small chuckle. “You’re right. Guess I would be grabbing takeout every day then.” He eyed the food in front of him and decided to change the topic. “You’re still putting the eggplant on the side?”

Naome shot him a look. “Just because I entertain your miso soup and eggplant cravings every day doesn’t mean it’s not gross and questionable. I want to drink the soup too, you know.”

Feigning anger and insult, Kakashi picked up a piece of the eggplant with his chopsticks and shot it into the kunoichi’s bowl of miso soup. He smirked when he watched her expression change from shocked to angry.

“Kakashiiii!” She screamed as she glared between the offensive piece of vegetable and the smug copycat ninja. He gave a playful shrug in response and continued to eat his meal as if nothing had happened. She just froze and watched him in disbelief as he acted like he hadn’t just ruined her whole bowl of soup. 

Giving a frustrated groan, she took a sip of the soup anyways and decided, nope she still didn’t like it, but it was kind of bearable.

“I’ll make you a new one next time,” Kakashi winked at the girl. Despite how many times he teased her and how close they had gotten, Naome still couldn’t help but be flustered whenever he gave her that wink.The same one that had started her feelings all together. 

“No thanks,” she replied, “I can’t help but think you would mess that one up too.”

He scoffed, “I’m not that incapable you know.”

She raised her eyebrow at him, “Really? Because of all the things you are good at Kakashi-sensei, cooking is definitely not one of them.”

Kakashi sighed, dropping his head and giving in. The girl was right. Ever since he was a kid, he rarely had time to cook at home. He had joined the Anbu forces at such a young age, most of his time was either spent on training or on missions. After that, he continued his habit of busying himself with teaching or more missions, and convinced himself that takeout or something easy like toast or ramen were the only option. It was too bad that the kunoichi in front of him would never know how grateful he truly was for her company and her meals.

The two of them finished up and washed the dishes together despite Kakashi’s insistence that he should actually do some of the work to help out. After they were done, they went to their usual spot on the couch. Kakashi sat down pulling out his copy of Makeout Tactics from his pocket. Call him whipped, but the afternoon was the only time that Naome allowed him to read his book around her so he made good use of the time, though nowadays, he found himself focusing on the book less often, and more on the girl next to him.

Naome laid down on the couch and placed her head on his thighs, pulling out her own book. To say that Kakashi wasn’t concentrated on his novel was an understatement compared to the way Naome read. Her book was mainly used to shield herself face so that Kakashi couldn’t catch her staring at him (not that Kakashi couldn’t tell, he just pretended to not notice.) The two had gotten so used to that position that they didn’t even think twice about it. 

An hour had gone by, and Naome was getting bored of just staring at the book in front of her. She had truly tried to get into it but it just wasn’t interesting to her. Instead, she opted to start playing with wind chakra in the palm of her hand, forming it into different shapes like Kakashi had taught her. 

Feeling the slight breeze from below, Kakashi peered down at the girl on her lap. He couldn’t help but smile fondly at her when he saw her tongue peeking out from her lips as she stared at her palm in concentration. 

He stuck out his own palm next to hers and formed a ball of wind as well, but with more precision and faster moving chakra. Naome glared at the hand and swatted it away. “Stop showing off. Concentrate on your book, you old man.”

Kakashi chuckled and turned back to the novel in front of him. The words on the page bypassed him completely as he continued taking peeks at the ninja on his lap. Noticing her sensei’s gaze on her, Naome looked up at the silver-haired man who quickly buried his head in the novel when he realized he got caught. 

Naome’s eyes shifted to the novel in his hand. She had always wondered what Kakashi was reading about, considering he seemed so enamoured by that book that he would carry it around with him everywhere he went. So the next time Kakashi’s eyes were on the book, Naome quickly reached up and snatched it from his hand. She shot up and ran away, knowing fairly well that Kakashi would be after her in a second.

“Yui and Ichiro stared into each other’s eyes as she straddled her lap. Her large breasts hung out, giving Ichiro a nice view of all her assets. He felt himself-” Naome squealed as Kakashi started chasing after her, and of course, being the quick shinobi that he was, he caught up to her quickly.

Naome continued running around the apartment, using the coffee table, dining table, and the couch to help her dodge the now red-as-a-tomato ninja. She continued reading aloud as she went “...their tongues battled for dominance. His hands began to slip up her shirt and her nipples-”

“Naome! Give that back!” Kakashi cried as he leaped easily over the couch. This time, his hand just skimmed the back of her shirt before she escaped again.

“He tied her hands up to the bedpost and SPANKED HER?! Geez Kakashi-sensei!” Naome continued around the coffee table. “She cried out each- Ah!”

Time was up. Kakashi had caught up to her and pulled her arm to him. She continued to struggle out of the way, still reading aloud with her other arm outstretched with the book. “‘Harder,’ she cried, ‘oh I-’” WIth one final tug, Kakashi pulled her into him, but it was a lot harder than he expected. 

She let out a surprised squeal when she landed on the floor, on her hands and knees. Kakashi stared up at the girl on top of him. He was vaguely aware of the book that had landed about a meter away, but neither of them reached for it as they continued to maintain eye contact.

Naome’s hands were on Kakashi’s chest, stabilizing herself after having fallen on top of the jonin. Both of them were breathing heavily, after having such an intense game of tag in the apartment. Kakashi tried his best to lose his gaze from Naome’s chest as he noticed it moving up and down with each breath. Unfortunately for him though, it didn’t work.

Drawn to Kakashi’s presence again, Naome began to lean down so that her face was right in front of his. She could feel a small twitch underneath her crotch where it met Kakashi’s and she grinned. 

Never had she seen Kakashi so flustered before. In the past few months, Naome realized the only time he would lose his calm persona was when she would have possession of his book, and now she knew why. This was a new instance now though. Kakashi was so red with embarrassment from the swelling in his pants, that Naome could see the blush creeping up from under the mask, now trailing to his ears and the rest of his face.

She smirked, an evil plan popping into her mind as she continued to lean down towards her sensei beneath her. She went past his lips, despite how much she wanted to remove the mask and kiss him right there. She could feel Kakashi shiver as she purposely brushed her lips against his mask, on the way to his ear. Once she was there, she made sure to just barely skim her lips against the shell of his ear as she spoke.

“Kakashi- _sensei_ ” she all but whispered. She grinned when she felt him shiver from the words. “You’ve been a naughty boy. Is this what you’ve been reading this whole time?”

The small groan that escaped his lips didn’t escape her as she felt him twitch once again against her core. She held herself back from laughing. This was just too much fun for her. 

“Sensei,” she purred. “Is this what you wanted? Is this what you want, Kakashi-sensei?”

Kakashi let out a loud gasp as Naome grinded her hips into his now fully aroused member. His hands subconsciously moved to her hips, locking on because he wanted more. He heard her chuckle once before she placed a small kiss on his cheek and stood up. Kakashi almost growled at the loss of pressure on his member.

His eyes shot up to the girl that was now standing next to him with a smug look on her face. She took a quick glimpse at his pants to notice the tent that was pitched there before fully letting out a laugh. She pretended to take a look at the clock and her grin grew to a full blown smile as she began walking away. “Well, look at the time! Guess I better get going. I’m sure Mr. and Mrs. Nara are waiting for me for dinner.”

She paused when she reached the door to look at the flustered ninja that was now sitting up on the carpet. She threw him a wink and skipped out the door. “Later Kakashi-sensei!”

When the door clicked closed behind the younger shinobi, Kakashi finally snapped back to reality, and reality was, his chest was heaving, he felt warmer than ever, and his member was painfully hard underneath his pants. He laid down again and tried to focus on anything that could bring his raging boner back down, but all he could think of was the girl that was just in his apartment.

He sighed, a small smile forming on his face. He swore that girl would be the death of him.

\---

That night, when Naome got home, she helped her aunt with dinner and set it up just in time for Shikaku to come back from his counsel meeting. Naome noticed during the dinner that her uncle’s forehead held a deep crease and several more were forming. He was beginning to look more and more stressed, and Naome had no idea why.

Usually at home, Shikamaru would be the one to talk things over with his father, especially when it came to the politics that were worrying Shikaku at work. Naome typically stayed out of those conversations, but the look on his face made her really uneasy that night, so she asked.

“Uncle Shikaku, is something the matter?” Both adults looked up at the late teenager and then Yoshino too turned her gaze to her husband. “You just look a bit….worried.”

Shikaku sighed and set down his bowl and chopsticks. He rested his elbows on the table and crossed his hands in front of his face as he talked. “We got news of the Akatsuki in the small towns on the outskirts of Konoha.”

“Akatsuki…” Naome had heard about them a few times from conversations with Naruto and Jiraiya, but she didn’t truly know any details except that they were a group of strong, rogue ninjas, and Sasuke’s brother was one of them.

“Did any of our shinobi come in contact with them?” Yoshino asked her husband.

“No,” Shikaku replied, shaking his head, “but Asuma was investigating it. He’s back now and he wants to pursue the leads.”

Naome’s heart sunk. She didn’t want Asuma-sensei to go out on such a dangerous mission. Afterall, he had treated her like his own student, and they had grown close in the two and a half years that she’d been in Konoha. 

Shikaku noticed Naome’s expression and let out a small smile. “Don’t worry about it too much. Asuma doesn’t look like it, but he can handle himself. He’s the son of the Third Hokage after all.” Noticing that his reassurance didn’t quite reach her ears, Shikaku decided to change the topic. “By the way, guess who’s coming back tomorrow.”

Naome’s eyes lit up at the comment, suddenly pushing the negative thoughts to the back of her mind. “Shikamaru is coming back?!”

Shikaku nodded. “Yup, he should be back in the morning around 9 if you want to go pick him up then.”

“Of course! I don’t have training tomorrow so of course I’ll pick him up!” Shikamaru had been gone for about two full weeks this time, and though the timing seems short, he had been gone for many periods of time before that too. Now Naome was just glad to see him every moment that she could.

Shikaku watched silently as the girl now dazed off into her mind. He couldn’t help but smile, thanking the lords for introducing such a cute and capable woman who loved his son.

\---

The next morning, Naome waited at the gate for Shikamaru to arrive. She made small talk with Kotetsu and Izumo until finally, she saw a familiar high ponytail appear from the edge of the forest.

“Shikamaru!” The tired ninja’s head immediately snapped up at the sound of his name. Despite the long journey, and how much of a drag it all was, he was now grinning as he jogged up to the girl who was waving in front of the gate.

When he got there, he lifted her up in his arms and gave her a long searing kiss, earning wolf whistles from the two gate guards and his companions. 

“Welcome home,” Naome said when they finally broke the kiss. Shikamaru’s shoulders relaxed a bit, his body feeling suddenly lighter at the sound of those words. He didn’t know how much he needed it until then. While he enjoyed his job, it was a drag having to travel with random shinobi from the village that he wasn’t close to, and even more so that the walk took three days each way. Now, he was finally home.

Saying goodbye to the village guards and his teammates, he and Naome made their way to the Hokage’s office first so that he could report in. When they arrived, her door was closed so Shikamaru brought a hand up to knock on it. Just as he was about to knock on the door, they heard voices coming from the other side. 

“Asuma, it’s way too dangerous for you to go there on your own!” Tsunade’s enraged voice easily carried through the wooden door. Naome felt a pit forming in her stomach as soon as she realized what the hokage was referring to. “It’s the Akatsuki we’re talking about!”

Shikamaru was suddenly upright and alert now, as he listened into the conversation.

“She’s right Asuma. You can’t go alone. I’m going to go with you.” Naome felt her world stop completely when she heard the third voice. No...she wanted to say, No. You can’t go too.

Before she was able to react, Shikamaru knocked on the door. Tsunade’s agitated voice called them to enter the room. Sure enough, the voices were confirmed when they saw their teachers standing in front of the hokage’s desk, with Tsunade standing up to match her frustration. Her face barely relaxed when her eyes landed on Shikamaru and Naome.

“Shikamaru, glad to see you’re back,” she said, though her voice did not reflect it. “How was your trip this time?”

“Good,” Shikamaru replied. “The Kazekage is interested in sharing resources like you mentioned. He said he will send us a proposal later on in the week with a full list of what he would be interested in trading.”

Tsunade let out a deep breath, her shoulders finally falling to relax a bit. “Well, at least that’s one piece of good news.” She paused for a moment to look at the four shinobi standing in front of her desk before turning back to Shikamaru. “Are they expecting you back there any time soon?”

“No…” he said, “they haven’t specified. I’m sure Temari will send a hawk if they do need me there.”

“Good. I have another mission for you.” Tsunade once again, eyed each one of the ninjas before continuing, “Asuma, Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Naome, all of you will be tracking down the members of the Akatsuki found outside of the village. Ino and Choji are on a mission with two other jonin right now. I will send a hawk for them to meet you guys there as soon as possible. You will head out tomorrow morning. If you see them….kill them.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Swearing and Character Death
> 
> This chapter was so hard to write! I'm not a huge action junky and I didn't want to ruin the original scene. Hopefully it turned out alright.

The next morning, Shikamaru and Naome got out of bed when it was still pitch black outside. They had barely slept a wink the night before and merely spent the night in each other’s arms comforting each other for the inevitable that was about to come. They got ready for their mission in silence. In fact, it was so quiet that they could hear Shikamaru’s parents shuffling around downstairs as they helped them prepare for the day.

Grabbing their packs and Naome’s swords, they went downstairs and set their belongings in the hallway before heading off to the dining room. Yoshino had set up two plates of breakfast for the two and Shikaku was sitting at the end of the table with his arms crossed as he stared at the table, deep in thought. 

Yoshino came into the room and joined the family as Naome and Shikamaru were eating. She placed a soft loving kiss on both of their cheeks before she sat down herself. “You two ready?” 

Despite the smile on her face, the two younger shinobi could tell from one glance that Yoshino had been crying throughout the night. Her eyes were quite swollen, and the whites were turned red from the dryness and exhaustion. 

“Yeah,” Shikamaru replied, “We’ll be fine.”

Both Shikaku and Yoshino flinched at the obvious lie their son was telling. Shikamaru had always been the one to keep his cool so as to not worry his parents, but being two experienced shinobi themselves, they knew just how dangerous the mission was. The only saving grace came knocking at the door moments after Shikamaru and Naome had finished their breakfast. 

“Asuma, Kakashi, good morning.” Shikaku greeted as he opened the door for the two jonin. Originally, Shikamaru and Naome had proposed that they would meet at the front gate as usual, but the two teachers decided it would be best to at least have a word with the parents first before they left. 

“Good morning!” Kakashi said. He then turned two eye the two late teenagers, “wow...you guys look like you haven’t slept all night.” 

Naome yawned, not having the energy to bicker with her teacher so early in the morning as she grabbed her duo-swords and strapped the sheaths to her back. She then grabbed her backpack and threw it on, and walked to stand next to the two older men at the front door. Shikamaru followed soon after with his own bag. 

“We’ll take good care of them,” Asuma reassured the two parents. Yoshino had already begun crying again in Shikaku’s arms. 

“I know.” Shikaku’s voice rumbled, “You always do.”

Lingering hugs were exchanged before the four of them began walking towards the entrance of the village. The two jonin lead the way while the sleepy ones lagged behind. Shikamaru was especially slow that morning because he had just returned from his mission and had yet to have a good night’s rest before being sent out again. Naome walked with her hand holding his, almost dragging him at some points to keep up. She swore she could feel Kakashi’s eyes watching them every once in a while, but she shook it off, thinking that Kakashi was just checking to make sure they weren’t falling too far behind.

It was when the sun began to rise that the four shinobi began to dash along the tree branches. Asuma led the way, knowing exactly where the two bounty hunters were headed, and the other three followed behind. 

Naome turned to the copycat ninja on her right as she watched him leap across the branches. She noticed that he didn’t bring any backpacks with him, only himself and his weapons. “Where’s your bag, old man? Your back still hurting?”

“Maybe it is,” Kakashi winked, “wanna give me a massage later?”

Luckily Naome’s face was already flushed from running for a long period of time. She knew he was getting him back for the day prior when she was teasing him. The kunoichi smirked, she wasn’t going to take the argument lying down.

“Hey Asuma-sensei!” Naome called to the captain in front. The tanned ninja turned around, cigarette hanging from his lips. “Kakashi-sensei says he wants a back massage. Maybe you can show him a good time.”

Catching on, Asuma wiggled his eyebrows at Kakashi and blew him a kiss. “Any time, baby. Come to my place after this.”

Naome burst out laughing, not expecting her other sensei to play along so well. Kakashi couldn’t help but chuckle with the two. He had lost that round for sure. He held his hand out and gestured to the girl’s backpack. “Here, I’ll hold it for you.”

Naome raised an eyebrow, “Are you babying me again?”

Kakashi rolled his eyes. It was the same conversation every mission. “Can’t I just offer to be the nice guy? Besides, with the backpack on your back, how are you going to take your swords out if you need them? And you’re slowing down with a load on your back.”

Letting out a huff, Naome gave in without an argument this time because she knew he was right. Kakashi was a lot faster than her so it would probably be easier for him to carry the pack. She took it off and threw it to Kakashi who responded with a grin. He looked past the kunoichi to find the lazy genius on the other side. It was then that he noticed the boy hadn't said a word since the morning. 

“Still sleepy?” He teased the chunin. Shikamaru shook his head.

“Just thinking.”

Naome looked at him in concern. She figured he was probably silently preparing strategies in his head for the upcoming encounter. It wasn’t uncommon for Shikamaru to zone out like this. Kakashi on the other hand could catch the subtle glances the dark haired ninja took in his direction. He could tell the topic on the genius’s mind wasn’t the battle with the Akatsuki, but the battle with him instead. 

Kakashi excused himself and dashed on ahead to join his old friend. He didn’t want Shikamaru to get the wrong idea so he decided to be the bigger person in the scenario and backed off. The last thing he needed today was tension or worse, a fight, between the members of his team.

It was just before noon when Asuma slowed to a stop at the base of the trees. Naome’s heart was pounding so loud that it was ringing in her ears. She knew what the break meant: they were almost there. The team set their backpacks down in a safe place, and grabbed everything they thought they would need for the fight. The goal of course, was to stay travelling as light as possible, but with all the essentials.

Naome watched as Asuma tucked an extra pack of cigarettes in his pockets and cringed. “Asuma-sensei, you really ought to quit smoking. It’s horrible for your health.”

Asuma laughed sheepishly but kept the packet anyway. Shikamaru sighed, “Don’t bother Naome. I told him a million times already. Even I’ve given up.”

Naome’s frown deepened as she turned to Shikamaru, “you better not pick up that habit too!”

“Alright.” He agreed, but as soon as she turned around, she could hear him mutter under his breath: “women are so naggy. What a drag.”

The kunoichi opened her mouth to scold him again, but alas, Asuma came to his saving grace. “Let’s go over the plan for today. Once the members head into the building, we will set up the trap. Shikamaru, you are a long ranged fighter so you need to be in the back. You will position yourself on top of the building so that you can use the shadow to catch them. Naome and Kakashi, the three of us will be at the bottom to ambush him. If two of them come out, we will have to split up. In that case, Kakashi and Naome will work together and Shikamaru and I will work together.”

“No.” Kakashi cut in. “If there are two, I will distract one. Naome will continue to guard Shikamaru. It’s too risky to have him concentrate on the shadow jutsu without protection.”

Asuma was about to protest, afterall, it was too risky for his friend to be fighting an Akatsuki member on his own, but he knew from one look at Kakashi’s eyes that the conversation was over. He sighed, “Alright, but you keep yourself safe up. Ino and Choji’s squad should be here soon. Let’s go.”

\---

The team made it to the abandoned white building with just enough time to catch a glimpse of the two members disappearing inside. As soon as the enemies were inside, they hid in their designated spots with Asuma front and center as bait. 

Naome looked up from her position. She couldn’t see Shikamaru who was on top of the building but she knew he was there. Concern hit her as she realized it was almost exactly noon now and there were no clouds in the sky. There were barely any shadows on the ground for Shikamaru to work off of. This meant that he would be using up a lot of stamina to cast his shadow jutsus. She prayed that the fight would be over quickly, because the longer it would be delayed, the harder it would be for Shikamaru to hold the enemy down. 

About another ten minutes went by when Naome caught a glimpse of her cue from Asuma. Everybody got into their ready positions and Shikamaru’s shadow began creeping down the wall. 

A silver haired ninja in a black and red cloak emerged from the building. He eyed Asuma with a smirk on his face before approaching him. “Well...you look kind of familiar.” The stranger said.

Out in the open and away from the door now, Shikamaru sent his shadow full speed along the ground towards the enemy. Naome grabbed both swords in her hands and watched the shadow closely. From the corner of her eye, she could see Kakashi charging up a chidori in his hand. 

As soon as Shikamaru’s shadow hit, the silver-haired enemy froze in his tracks. With that, both Naome and Kakashi dashed out. Using all the power she had, she drove both the swords into the ninja’s body, trying not to cringe as she witnessed Kakashi’s hand go through the enemy’s body all together. 

“Well...one down, one to go.” Asuma said with a smirk on his face, however, the whole team was shocked when they heard a voice breaking through the open area.

“Mother fucker. That fucking hurt. Hey you up there! Let go of me would you?”

Naome stared wide-eyed at the body that was still standing in front of her. The guy had been stabbed three times: the two swords and Kakashi’s hand were still protruding out of his body to prove it. Yet there he was, cursing his head off, and conversing with them. 

It was a good thing Shikamaru still had a grip on him, though by now, he was starting to sweat from the struggle the Akatsuki member was putting on and the vast distance he had to stretch his shadow. Before he was able to think of how to close the space between the action and himself, another voice came from directly below him. 

“My, my Hidan, what have you gotten yourself into this time?” Another taller, darker looking ninja appeared with an Akatsuki robe as well. Asuma immediately took Kakashi’s place as the copycat ninja positioned himself across from the new enemy. The creepy one stared at the two jonin for a second before he spoke again. “Kakashi Hatake and Asuma Sarutobi? Wow. I’m about to get rich today. But first…”

Shikamaru froze as the second Akatsuki turned to face him as he was on the roof. He knew at any moment now, the ninja could jump up and kill him and there he was, unprotected. He knew nothing about the enemy, and again, he began to doubt his intellect as he always did in situations like this. Not knowing what to do, he looked down to his sensei to find Asuma sending him a signal. He checked one more time to make sure Naome had noticed as well before he slowly stood up.

When he was ready, he let go of the jutsu and leaped off the roof onto the ground. Naome had grabbed both of her swords out of the talking body and retreated to stand in front of him. Asuma poised himself on the other side, ready to strike the Akatsuki member. 

As soon as he was ready, Shikamaru set one knee on the floor and began weaving his shadow again. Hidan’s eyes widened as he watched the shadow approaching him. “Oh hell, no. You ain’t trapping me in that stupid ass bind again.” 

Hidan began to run and leap around the ground as he was getting ambushed by Asuma and Shikamaru left right and center. Alert, Naome kept his eyes on the fight, and checked from time to time to the other side where Kakashi was having a standoff with the second member. 

Asuma began fighting in hand to hand combat with the silver-haired enemy and the enemy also began to show some of his own jutsu, controlling his large red scythe as he continued dodging Shikamaru’s attempts to trap him. The undying shinobi continued to swing the scythe to catch Asuma. At one point, he did nick a bit of Asuma’s face with the very edge of one of the blades. Asuma immediately recovered and began weaving hand signs. “Fire release: Ash Pile Burning!”

Naome gasped as a large cloud of smoke filled the air followed by a giant explosion. She fought her greatest urge to run over to see if Asuma was alright. He must have been. If he was doing that jutsu, he should be able to escape just in time to keep himself safe.

When the smoke cleared though, a different story was told. Naome gasped as Asuma had half of his face burnt and the enemy stood practically unharmed in between the two of them. His aura was different now, and Naome could see from the enemy’s single exposed shoulder and arm that he had transformed into something else. His skin was now black with outlines of his skeleton.

The newly transformed shinobi laughed maniacally at the tanned ninja in front of him. “Finally, everything is all set. Let’s see if you still want to play.”

A long, pointed black rod formed in his hand. Naome couldn’t see what had happened, but suddenly, Asuma was on the ground, grasping his right leg. She didn’t see him get hit, so how could he suddenly be bleeding?

“Shikamaru…” Naome called silently to the ninja behind her. “Shikamaru….we need to figure something out. We can’t just stand here.”

Everyone on the team snapped their heads up as Asuma screamed in agony, grasping his right leg even tighter as more blood gushed out. Naome turned to look at Kakashi for an answer when she realized he wasn’t looking at the second Akatsuki member anymore.

“Kakashi-sensei!”

The second shinobi struck, his arm detached itself from the body and flew over to grab Kakashi’s neck. Naome gasped as the arm, connected to the main body by large black fibres, grasped onto Kakashi’s throat, choking him and lifting him off the ground. 

Thinking quickly, Kakashi charged a lightning blade in his right hand and sliced through the black fibres, dropping stealthily onto his feet. Immediately, he dashed forward after the second Akatsuki member as they fought from a distance. 

“Kakashi!” She called again in worry. Too much had been going on and she just felt so useless. She began to funnel wind into her blade when Kakashi yelled back to her.

“Don’t lose focus! Remember the plan!”

Naome was about to reply with a to hell with the plan, but she realized the ball was in Shikamaru’s court now. He needed to strategize against this undying Akatsuki member, and she needed to trust in him. 

“I need to get him out of that circle.” Shikamaru spoke, almost to himself. Naome eyed the ground, noticing the red circle with a triangle in the middle, for the first time. “He must have connected his body to Asuma’s using the blood on his scythe. From there, he probably has to be in the circle to cast whatever body mirror jutsu he’s doing.”

A shadow shot out from Shikamaru again, but it struggled to reach the enemy ninja. Hidan laughed again as he looked at the pitiful man on the floor in front of him. “The sooner I’m done with you, the sooner I can get to that masked one over there. I get double the fun today.”

Naome gasped as he skeleton brough the black rod and pointed it towards his own heart. He wouldn’t….would he? “Shi-Shikamaru….”

Just as Naome was about to close her eyes, not wanting to watch the spear drive into his heart, every stopped.

“Oh fuck you!” Hidan cursed. Shikamaru had caught him. Slowly, Shikamaru started moving to the side, forcing the enemy to follow him out of the circle. Naome dared to only peek once at the man behind her, knowing fairly well that he was struggling to keep the stranglehold on the shadow. 

Asuma began to get on his feet, walking towards the ninja despite the fact that he was practically dragging one leg and bleeding profusely. He charged the chakra blades that were wrapped around his knuckles as he approached the Akatsuki member. Just as Shikamaru forced the final steps out of Hidan, Asuma dashed forward and struck, decapitating the skeleton.

Once the head fell to the ground, Shikamaru fell back in relief, panting desperately as he felt the remainder of his chakra leave him. Pathetic, he thought to himself. They had only gotten one of the two enemies, and there he was, completely wiped out. He was sure that between Asuma, Naome, and Kakashi, and the reinforcements that were due to arrive, that the second member would also be successfully killed. What he didn’t account for, was the sound of the menacing laugh yet again.

“You! That hurts like shit!”

Dread filled the pit of Shikamaru’s stomach. He had suspected cutting off his head was not enough...yet he had foolishly hoped that it had worked.

“Kakuzu, you fucking old man! Get your ass over here and bring me my body!” Hidan...well...his head called out. 

The second Akatsuki member eyed the talking head briefly in between dodging Kakashi’s attacks. “You were the idiot that decided to go against three of them alone.”

“Yeah! I did! So are you going to fucking help me or what? If not, once they’re done with me, they’re going to kill your greedy ass too!” 

Naome readied herself again. She wasn’t sure what the Kakuzu was capable of, but she knew this wasn’t over. The second Akatsuki leapt away from Kakashi and landed next to the head. She widened her eyes when she saw him bring the head to the dead body. 

Willing herself to move, as she was now the closest, she grasped her swords and quickly dashed towards the duo. She knew, if Kakuzu somehow attached his partner’s head back again, that they would be at a major disadvantage. Shikamaru wouldn’t be able to cast his shadow jutsu anymore, and who knew how else they were going to defeat the undying. 

She wouldn’t be able to reach in time, but she knew she had to try. Funnelling the wind chakra into her swords as she did in her training, she released it all in the direction of the enemy, before she suddenly had the breath knocked out of her. 

Her attack had worked. She had somehow detached Kakuzu’s arm that was holding the head, but she had been knocked to the ground by Kakuzu's other extended arm. The arm that had hit her, grabbed onto her throat and the ropes began coiling around her body. All three men watched in horror as she was getting suffocated, while simultaneously, the first body was getting his head literally sewn back onto his body with the black fibres.

Deciding to save Naome rather than stopping the rebirth process, Kakashi ran in Naome’s direction, ready to cut the fibres that were holding her together. At that point though, Kakuzu was done with Hidan, and used his now free hand to continue fighting off Kakashi. 

“Fuck,” Kakashi cursed to himself as he continued to think of ways to get to the struggling kunoichi. His head was beginning to hurt as he thought of every scenario possible to save her. He couldn’t let her die. Not under his supervision. Not with him around. Not without him.

Naome on the other hand, cracked her eyes open and watched in horror at what was unfolding with Hidan. Her mouth had been covered by the thick ropes so she couldn’t even scream though she wanted to. 

Hidan was back in the circle, motioning for his scythe as he stood, watching Asuma with bloodthirsty eyes. Naome willed herself to move, but she couldn’t. She also knew that Shikamaru couldn’t reach in time, and that Kakashi was being preoccupied himself. She had to free herself. She had to free herself to get to Asuma.

Feeling the blades in her two hands that were trapped at her sides, she focused on funnelling as much chakra as possible. She couldn’t even breathe anymore, and her head was pounding from the lack of oxygen but she had to do it. Almost blacking out made her senses dulled except for feeling the handles of her blades. Once she gathered chakra to the point where she thought she would pass out, she released it. The wind chakra sliced through the ropes and she was finally dropped to her knees.

She gasped. Her chest heaved heavily as she struggled to catch her breath. Her vision was blurry, but she knew where she had to go. She couldn’t even feel her legs as she dashed towards Asuma. From the corner of her eye, she could see Shikamaru running too, from the other side. 

The scythe swung over Asuma’s head, piercing the skeleton straight through the stomach. Asuma began to cough up blood, as he fell to his knees, gripping his core. 

“NO!” Naome couldn’t even hear her own voice as she watched Hidan bring his black spear up to his own chest. The wicked smile on his face haunted her mind. She reached out, her hand just barely grazing the cold metal of the spear before she heard it piercing through Hidan’s body.

She was way too close to the Akatsuki member now, and she knew it. Her instincts immediately brought her away as she went to grab Asuma’s body before it fell to the ground. She dashed further away from Hidan. Clearing the dizziness out of her eyes now, she turned to Asuma and desperately focused the chakra in her hands. She had to try to heal him. She had to try to stop the damage. She had to.

“Asuma-sensei, stay with me.” She begged, the green glow emitting from her palms as her tears fell, leaving water stains on the man’s clothes. “You have to stay with me.” 

She was vaguely aware of Shikamaru’s presence next to her and Kakashi’s body perched in front of them, blocking the enemies from his students. She could still feel Asuma’s heart beating in his chest, but there was so much damage inside that she didn’t even know where to start. 

“Now, step away from the body. I need his head.” Kakuzu said as he approached the group of Konoha shinobi. Kakashi stared him down, not even shifting an inch. 

That was when they heard it, the sound of crows surrounding them and then a violent hit, shoving the two Akatsuki members back. The enemies regrouped, about 15 meters away as eyed the new arrivals. Choji had hit them with his expansion jutsu, catching them off guard. 

“More of you fucking people? When do you know to quit?” Hidan cursed from his spot, eyeing the group distastefully. “I just want to collect my damn bounty and go.”

Suddenly, the two Akatsuki members spaced out and began murmuring amongst themselves as if they were talking to someone on one end of a phone. Without another warning, the two disappeared.

Kakashi finally dropped his guard when he couldn’t sense their chakra anymore. He turned his attention to the younger ones that were calling out to Asuma desperately. Ino and Naome were hovering over all parts of his upper body, trying to close the wounds.

“Don’t…” Asuma whispered as he took heavy breaths. “I can feel it….it’s time.”

“Sensei! Don’t say that!”

“Choji please,” Shikamaru interrupted. His eyes were dark and cold now as he knew what was bound to happen. “These are Asuma-sensei’s last words.”

“Ino,” Asuma started. “Choji and Shikamaru are goofs. Promise me you will take care of them.” Ino nodded, tears continuing to fall from her eyes.

“Choji, you are the kindest ninja I know. Continue to help others, but also be kind to yourself. Oh...and don’t eat too much alright?” Choji couldn’t even reply as he sobbed uncontrollably over his sensei’s body.

“Naome,” Naome froze at the sound of her name. She didn’t expect Asuma to address her too as she was not one of his original students. Asuma heaved a deep breath before he continued. “Take care of Shikamaru for me. I’ve never seen him so happy in his life before. Please be there for him and remind him to relax every once in a while.”

“Sensei…”

Finally, Asuma turned to address Shikamaru. “Shikamaru, remember the games of shogi that we played. Remember what’s important….and remember that riddle I told you? Let me tell you the answer.”

Shikamaru leaned in, listening to Asuma’s final words, before his eyes widened and he nodded in understanding.

“Now...I want one final smoke.” As Shikamaru helped his sensei load the final cigarette, Naome knew she couldn’t watch anymore. She stood, her shaky legs bringing her upright as she stumbled backwards and several meters away from the scene. She could still see from afar but her tears blurred her vision. 

Asuma had been there since the first day she arrived. He had encouraged Shikamaru to bring her to the Hokage after Shikamaru carried her to the main gate. Asuma was the one that trained her for her chunin qualification test. He was the one that realized her potential and first believed in her when he discovered her second nature release. Despite being an outsider, he treated her as if she was his own student. And yet, she could do nothing to save him.

She watched as the tiny light of Asuma’s cigarette and lighter faded to nothingness, and for certain, she knew he was gone. 

Naome fell to her knees and began hyperventilating. It was her first time losing someone that she genuinely cared for. She was alone her whole life, never opening up to strangers, until she found home in Konoha. And now, someone she cared for was gone. Her sensei was gone!

Kakashi watched, bewildered as the girl in front of him began panicking. It went by unbeknownst to the others present because she had been a distance away. He snapped out of his own mourning and quickly dashed to her side. He could feel her nature energy picking up. The area had begun to rain already and suddenly, the wind around them was getting stronger. He knew what was happening. She was beginning to lose control of her powers. 

Kakashi had suspected this would happen at some point, but he didn’t know what would trigger it. His prodigy was strong. She had ninjutsu powers beyond belief and her chakra manipulation was always incredible and growing. Yet, despite how much he tried to get her to train chakra control, he knew there was a possibility of the water and wind release to manifest itself in much greater and devastating forms which is why he never wanted to teach her the second nature release. The wind continued picking up, almost forming a twister now, and Kakashi knew if he didn’t stop her soon, she would have the possibility of causing destruction.

He grabbed onto Naome from behind, leaning into her as he whispered into her ear. “Naome, listen to me. You need to breathe. Slowly, come on. Breathe with me…” He could feel her start to calm down in his arms. “Listen to me. I know you’re hurt. I know you’re sad, but Shikamaru needs you right now. He needs you to be with him.”

With that, Naome snapped out of her daze. She looked up at the scene from far away again and noticed Shikamaru and the rest of team 10 weeping in despair. Her heart dropped, but she knew what she had to do. 

With shaky legs, she made her way over to Shikamaru’s quivering body. Kakashi watched from afar as she tapped his shoulder and leaned in to speak quietly into his ears. Shikamaru immediately broke down in her arms, his head buried in her shoulder as she held onto him tightly.

Kakashi turned away, looking at the dark clouds overhead as the rain poured. He too, was mourning. Mourning over the loss of yet another close friend and comrade. But the difference was, he had no one to console him but himself.


	15. Chapter 15

“Shikamaru...you’re not going?” Naome’s voice hung in the air as she called out to the man on top of the roof. Shikamaru’s parents had gone on without them, and Naome already knew that everyone else would be at the funeral already. 

Shikamaru lay on the rooftop in his funeral attire, Asuma’s lighter still grasped in his hand as he flicked it on and off. “No.”

Giving up, Naome left the house and made her way to the funeral grounds. The sky was dark outside, with the clouds hanging over just as it had been two days before when Asuma had passed. The past two days had been a dark time for Naome and Shikamaru. They first reported to the hokage’s office where Tsunade had cursed at the outcome of their mission. Then, Shikamaru went on his own to break the news to a pregnant Kurenai. 

Naruto and Jiraiya were called back from their training, and the rest of the town was notified of a shinobi passing. The funeral arrangements were made, but alas, Shikamaru was not going, as Naome had suspected would be the case because he had only locked himself at home ever since they returned from the mission.

Naome arrived at the open cemetery where gravestones of past shinobi were arranged neatly in rows. She noticed her friends were standing off in their own corner while some of Asuma’s colleagues were talking quietly amongst themselves in another. She spotted a familiar silver-haired ninja standing just outside of that group. He had noticed her arrival as well as they made eye contact.

Naome, flinched. She hadn’t seen Kakashi since the day of Asuma’s passing, but despite how strong he usually presented himself, she could tell he had lost weight, and the bags under his eyes showed his exhaustion and lack of sleep. Without thinking, she walked over to her sensei who was clad in the same funeral attire and missing his usual teasing grin.

“How are you?” She asked her sensei. She had almost forgotten that Kakashi and Asuma had been close friends and comrades throughout their lives as they were the same age and had trained together since they were young. 

Still, Kakashi managed to throw a small reassuring smile before he replied. “I’m hanging in there. Where’s Shikamaru?”

“He doesn’t want to come.” Naome sighed, “I don’t think he’s in a good place right now.”

Kakashi nodded. “It must be hard for him. If I’m not mistaken, it’s the first time he’s lost someone so close to him before.”

Kakashi’s words got Naome thinking: just how many close friends and comrades had Kakashi lost before? She thought back to the picture that was in his living room and noticed that none of those shinobi were in the village, at least, not as far as she knew. Also, he had never mentioned his family before.

“Yeah…” It was Naome’s first time losing someone close to her too, not that it was comparable to any of the pain Shikamaru must have been feeling. She had continued to remind herself to stay strong for the male, even though he was emotionally distant ever since his sensei’s death.

The funeral service began and Naome made her way back to where her teammates stood. Sakura gave her a long and lingering hug, knowing just how hard it must have been for her to witness Asuma’s death with her own eyes. It took all of Naome’s resolve to not break down again in that moment. She had cried her eyes dry for the past two days either with Shikamaru or in the arms of Yoshino, and she didn’t want to cry anymore.

The funeral procession passed with more tears from those around her. Naome watched as Naruto comforted Asuma’s nephew who had officially lost his last family member. She chanced a glimpse over at Kurenai who looked drained. The woman wasn’t crying, but was always caressing the small bump in her belly. Naome wondered how she was managing to cope with the loss of her lover. She couldn’t imagine for a second what it would have felt like to lose Shikamaru or Kakashi.

\---

That evening, Naome helped Yoshino prepare dinner for the family. The house was eerily quiet. As Yoshino set the table, she asked Naome to go and grab Shikamaru.

Naome knew where he was without needing to look around. She walked up to Shikamaru who was sitting on the porch, leaning against one of the pillars. His eyes stared out into the familiar yard where the Naras had a pond.

“Dinner is ready.” Her voice broke the silence, but Shikamaru didn’t even look at her. “Shika...you need to at least eat something.”

“I’m not hungry.” 

Letting out a defeated sigh, Naome walked away. She knew what his response would be from the moment she had approached him. He hadn’t eaten a real meal in days, only stopping by the kitchen every once in a while to eat enough to keep him going. It broke her to see him like this, and at the same time she felt helpless. He no longer talked to her, and he no longer reacted to anything around him. She had only hoped that once the grieving passed, everything would be okay.

After dinner, Shikaku went to Shikamaru and asked him to accompany him for a few games of shogi. Naome helped her aunt finish cleaning up and began walking in the direction of the room. She could hear the men talking inside. She stopped outside on the porch, just far enough so that the two wouldn’t be able to spot her as they continued the conversation.

“The Akatsuki, they’re strong, aren’t they?” Shikaku’s voice rumbled above the tapping sounds of the shogi pieces. “So...what’s your plan?...If someone like Asuma couldn’t handle them, what shot do you think you have? Sarutobi was a hell of a guy.”

“I know.” 

“He’s not so hot at shogi though.” The father-son duo let out a small chuckle at the thought. The game continued with the consistent tapping of the shogi pieces. 

“Do you know what you’re doing?” Shikaku asked. 

“Look, you play your way and I’ll play mine.” Shikamaru sounded agitated. 

“I’m not talking about shogi…” His son’s silence answered his question. Of course, what did he expect? The chunin barely had time to process the death of his teacher, yet here he was, asking his son for a solution. 

He sighed. “Well you wouldn’t do anything stupid I suppose. I’m lucky in that respect. Who wants to go to their own son’s funeral?... You’ve done very well for yourself, I’m proud to be your father. You’re as sharp as they come, with great talent, someone the leaf can depend on in the future. But now…” He paused, looking up to face his son. “Asuma is dead.”

Naome jumped as she heard the board crashing to the floor, the small wooden pieces scattering throughout the room. The sudden gust of wind blew the candle out, making the room dark.

“Just what are you getting at here?!” Shikamaru snapped. 

“Only the truth-”

“Would you shut your mouth?” Naome flinched at the sound of Shikamaru’s voice. She had never seen him speak this way to his parents before. “All this talking is making me sick. Say what you want, I’m still nothing but a useless coward!”

Naome pulled her knees to her chest and buried her head in them. Her eyes began watering. Flashbacks crept into her mind of Shikamaru’s distraught face as he ran towards Asuma in his last moments, knowing fairly well that he wasn’t fast enough, and didn’t have enough energy to get there. She knew he blamed himself for having low stamina and low reserves of chakra. If only he had just a little more in him, he would have been able to stop the Akatsuki member and save his teacher, or so he was convinced.

Naome felt it too. She had spent the past two days replaying the fight in her mind, wondering what she could have done better to help save her sensei. If only she was one step faster. If only she had broken out of the ropes sooner. If only she had pushed herself more in training to become stronger! While Naome knew those things might not have made a difference and succumbed herself to the truth, in the end, she knew Shikamaru was not there yet, and that he was still blaming himself for everything that he did or didn’t do. This hurt her the most.

“You’re wrong.” Shikaku said.

“What do you want from me?” Shikamaru’s voice displayed everything. He was angry, sad, and broken.

“Let it out boy.” His father said. “All of the anger, the sadness, and the fear. Everything that’s brewing inside of you. You’ve got to let it go….It all starts from there, son.”

There was a brief pause in silence. Just as Shikaku stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him, Shikamaru broke down. Naome wept harder as she heard Shikamaru crying out in agony. His screams of frustration and despair echoed through the whole complex and into the woods behind them. 

Naome pulled her knees closer as she cried, knowing very well that Shikaku was watching her now. Shikaku approached her, his footsteps slow and hesitant, before he crouched down next to her and placed an arm over her shoulders. The man pulled her into his body, resting her head on his chest as she clung onto his shirt and bawled her eyes out, her own screams being muffled by his body.

His hand rubbed her shoulder comfortingly as he asked himself if this is what it would be like to have a daughter. Her breaths were uneven as she spoke, “Sh-Shikamaru…”

“He’ll be alright.” He said soothingly as he pressed her closer. 

For the rest of the night, Shikamaru’s cries rang out until his voice wouldn’t allow him to anymore. Meanwhile, Naome had cried for the man, until she had fallen asleep in her uncle’s arms.

\---

The next day, Naome woke up to find that Shikamaru was carrying a new sense of determination to him. He was miles closer to his usual self than he had been before, eating breakfast with the family, making eye contact, and even conversing a bit with more than one word sentences. Naome felt a sense of relief rush over her as she watched Shikamaru walk around with a new sense of determination. The things Shikaku said must have struck a chord in him.

Naome stayed quietly at his side as he planned for revenge against the Akatsuki. She had nothing to offer in strategy, but did offer her support on the mission if he needed her. Shikamaru however, was adamant that she wouldn’t get involved. Despite his confidence in his new plan, the slightest chance of it backfiring and killing his beloved would be too much for him to handle.

He spent the day gathering resources and people, first finding Choji in the rocky hills, and then recruiting Ino from her home. He then went out in the early evening to set up a trap out in the far end of the Nara forest. The only thing he explained to her was that, that was where Hidan was going to meet his end. 

As Naome watched on in silence, doubt and fear began to creep in her mind. What was she doing, allowing Shikamaru to do this? What was she doing, watching her friends preparing for a battle against two Akatsuki members with just the three of them?

Shikamaru had begged Naome not to tell his parents because he knew they would stop him this time. His father had said he knew Shikamaru wouldn’t do anything stupid, but here he was toying with the conception of stupidity.

It was after dinner, when they were finally in his room, that they got to talk. Shikamaru was busy packing his gear, counting his kunais, and setting up paper bombs on a large number of them. His mind was busy replaying the plan in his head when Naome called out to him from the bed.

“Shikamaru. Don’t do this.” Shikamaru didn’t reply. He knew this was coming and he had only hoped she would not bring it up. “Please. Don’t go after them. We can do this another way, but not right now. You saw them. You saw what they could do.”

“It’s too late Naome. I have a plan. We’re going to stick with it.”

“At least take me with you.” She spoke again. “Ino and Choji haven’t fought them before. You need at least one teammate that knows what their abilities are.”

He turned to her, giving her a dark and stern look. “I told you already so don’t ask me again. I am not putting you in danger like that. Besides, I asked Kakashi-sensei to come along too.”

Naome’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. Kakashi? _Her_ Kakashi? This was the first time that she had heard of him being part of the plan, and it made everything so much worse. Forget losing one of them, she sure as hell was not going to lose both of them. It was too late though, she didn’t have the time to go find him. Dread filled her system when she realized that she might never see the silver-haired ninja again. Both of her loved ones were leaving...

“So then why put yourself in danger? Can’t you see that I’m worried too?!” Naome shot back after the shock faded from her.

“Because this is my obligation to my teacher! This is my duty and my job! You are not to be blamed for my own cowardice and my mistakes! It is my job to make up for them.” Shikamaru yelled. He had never yelled at her before and the tone of his voice made Naome shrink back into the pillow she was leaning on.

“Why do you keep thinking it’s your fault?” Naome’s voice was small now, defeated almost. “Asuma-sensei would never blame you for what happened to him. So why do you blame yourself?”

Shikamaru took the words in silence. He knew she was right, but at the same time, he couldn’t live with his own conscience. Besides, his mind was made up already and everything was in place. He finished up the preparation and joined Naome in bed. He immediately pulled the kunoichi in his arms despite the fact that they were still angry at each other and that they had just fought moments ago. This could very well be his last night on Earth and he sure as hell was not going to let her go.

“Don’t go.” She said again. This time, Shikamaru could feel her tears soaking into his shirt. 

“I have to.”

“No. Just don’t go.” She begged. “Stay with me Shikamaru. We’ll find a way to avenge Asuma, but not this way. For now just stay with me. I’m begging you, please.”

Shikamaru held onto the last of his resolve to not stay behind. He knew from the second Naome would start begging him, that he would second guess everything he had planned. He would do anything for her. All she had to do was ask, and he would do it without batting an eyelid. But not this. Not when it came to avenging his sensei.

She begged him for the rest of the night, only falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Shikamaru could only savour her for another hour before he got up to leave. He told his teammates to meet him at the gate at 5am in the morning, well before any of their parents or the village guards would be awake to stop them. It was 4:30 and he had to get going.

Slipping out of the Naome’s arms, he went to strap on all of his ninja tools and gear. He pulled his hair up into his usual ponytail and walked over to open the window to his room. Taking one last glance at the sleeping girl, he escaped through the window and into the dark morning. 

Little did he know though, Naome was awake. She had felt him get out of bed and felt the breeze from the window. Shooting up, she quickly changed out of her pyjamas and climbed through the window herself. She knew if she were to show up with the team, that neither Shikamaru nor Kakashi would let her go. So instead, she tried to go stop them another way.

\---

Naome stood outside the familiar apartment. It was dark out still, but she knew he was already awake. She had only prayed that he was still home. Tears poured out of her eyes as she watched the door desperately. Finally, the door opened to Kakashi in his ninja attire.

His eyes widened at the sight of his student at his door. He had wondered who would be knocking so early in the morning, and even wondered if it was Tsunade coming to stop their plan, but his heart sank when he laid eyes on the crying kunoichi standing in front of him.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the living room. “Naome, you can’t be here. I need to go-”

“No! Don’t go. Please don’t go.” Naome begged. She grasped onto Kakashi’s arm tightly. This was her last effort. She couldn’t lose both of them. 

Kakashi’s heart shattered at the sound of her begging for him to stay. It wasn’t that he was particularly hell bent on avenging Asuma in that specific moment. He knew there would be a time and place for that. He just couldn’t say no to a broken Shikamaru who came to ask him for help. He trusted Shikamaru’s plan, and in addition, he needed to make sure that Team Asuma would be safe, knowing that Asuma would be haunting him from his grave if Kakashi let anything happen to his students. 

He had hoped that he would see Naome one last time in case anything were to happen to him on the mission, but he hadn’t expected her to show up at his doorstep just as he was leaving. The way she was crying and begging him had him aching to stay with her and ditch the whole idea all together.

“You know I can’t do that. Think about Shikamaru-”

“To hell with Shikamaru!” Naome screamed, “I tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen. He won’t go if you’re not there. Please Kakashi, please.”

Kakashi froze at her words. He knew she was cursing the chunin but when it came down to it, she was begging him to stay so that Shikamaru would be forced to stay as well? He should have seen it coming, but for a moment, he thought she was there for him. Hearing her words were like having a kunai being stabbed in his gut.

He pulled away from the girl and turned towards the door. “I can’t, Naome. I’m sorry. I need to go.”

“No!” She ran after him. Before he could even get his hand on the handle of the door, he felt her crash into him from behind. Her arms came around, wrapping around his waist. “You can’t go. I can’t lose you. Not you too.”

Kakashi paused and turned around, facing the girl who was now looking up at him with desperate tears in her eyes. His heart yanked at his chest as the dilemma to leave grew.

“Please,” she begged. “Kakashi I can’t lose you. Don’t go. Just stay with me.”

He knew he was being selfish. He knew he was breaking all the rules and using the girl’s own feelings to satisfy himself. He knew it from the moment he pulled down his mask and tilted her chin up towards him. “Give me a reason to stay.”

Naome stared into her sensei’s eyes for a moment to make sure she was hearing things right before she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. Closing her eyes, she kissed him in vigour and in desperation. She needed him to know. She needed him to know everything that she was feeling. She reached up to the headband and pushed it up so that she could feel his scar with her fingertips. 

Breaking the kiss to catch her breath for one second, she wove her fingers into his silver hair and took a moment to memorize his face through her blurry eyes. He too, held her gingerly as his heart pounded in his chest. He had wanted this moment so desperately, and now here she was, in his arms.

Unable to take it anymore, Kakashi pulled in for another kiss. He felt her completely giving in to him before he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to his bed. They continued to make out for the next couple of minutes. Kakashi had one hand planted firmly on her hip, while the other one supported his weight above her. It was a last ditch effort to remind himself to not go too far. 

She felt so perfect in his arms, and he relished in the feeling of having her clinging to him so longingly. As their tongues danced and their lips caressed each other, he thought about how easy it would be to just stay and have her in his arms for the rest of the day, and days to come. He wanted so badly for that to happen, but even in this very moment, he was breaking every rule to be with her. 

Finally, after what seemed like the shortest moment, Kakashi pulled back, breaking the heated kiss. He leaned his forehead protector on her warm skin as they both fought to catch their breath. He closed his eyes and savoured the moment before he gave her one last peck on the lips.

“I have to go now.” 

Stunned, Naome felt her world crashing down as the silver-haired ninja got up and made his way out of the apartment. He left so quickly that she couldn’t react. It took her a moment to process as she heard the front door click.

When it finally caught up to her, her tears began falling again as she curled into a ball in Kakashi’s bedsheets. She cried, letting out screams of heartbreak and agony as she processed what had happened. Both the men she had given her heart out to were gone.

_He_ was gone.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The sun streamed into the window the next time Naome came to consciousness. She had been in and out of sleep the whole day on Kakashi’s bed, in the exact way that he had left her. Her cheeks were stained with tears. Her eyes and nose were rubbed raw, and she had a pounding headache from being dehydrated.

Naome wasn’t sure how much time had gone by. She hadn’t eaten all day or gotten up at all, but it was as if her body was numbed. She couldn’t find it within herself to move from where she was. The sun seemed to be lower in the horizon now as it streamed a warm orange glow into the room. She figured it must have been at least late afternoon. 

Worry filled her system. It had been hours already and there was no news of either one of them having returned yet. Were they still fighting? Were any of them injured?...Or worse? With all of the thoughts making her more and more depressed, Naome caved into her exhaustion. She willed herself to go back to sleep again, burying her face into Kakashi’s blanket. The only thing that seemed to help her calm down, even in the slightest, was his scent surrounding her.

\---

“Naome.”

Naome woke to the sound of her name and the feeling of familiar hands stroking her hair. Her head was throbbing as the light shone brightly into her eyes. Realizing what was happening, she turned to the side where the hand was coming from. She let out a large breath of relief and forced her happy tears back down. She was much too exhausted and dehydrated for more.

“You’re back.” She whispered. Her voice cracked from the helpless screaming from earlier. She took in the sight of her sensei sitting on the edge of the bed, as he watched her fondly.

“Yeah. It’s all done now.” He said, his hand still resting on her head. 

Naome reached up towards him, grabbing his outstretched arm. He was real. Kakashi was back. He was here, safe, with her in his house. She sat up, her head spinning in protest as she did so, and wrapped her arms around him.

Kakashi almost fell back when he felt the weight of the girl as she threw herself onto him. The soreness in his body became more prominent with her holding onto him so tightly, he almost forgot to breathe. 

“Oh thank god.” Naome whispered. “Thank goodness you’re alright. I was so worried.”

“I know you were.” He replied. He let out a deep breath, relaxing for the first time in hours. It felt so nice to be back in her arms. Throughout the whole fight, he had reminded himself that he now had a reason to come home, and he needed to come home to her. He pulled back from her briefly and frowned when he got a good look at her face.

He rubbed his thumb gently across one of her eye bags. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her nose was a matching red. She must have been crying the entire time. 

“Come here.” Kakashi pulled her into his lap, with her legs on either side of his. He gave her a quick peck on the forehead through his mask before he stood up, lifting her up with him. Naome wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her into the kitchen. He set her on the counter top and went to get her a glass of warm water. “Drink up. You need to make up for all the water you lost.”

Naome took the cup from him and took small sips as she watched Kakashi watching her. The copycat ninja seemed to be deep in thought as he stared at her. His expression was unreadable. “What is it?” She asked.

He shook his head and took a step back from the kunoichi. “It’s nothing. Quickly drink the water.” He paused for a second. “You should probably go see Shikamaru.”

Naome’s eyes widened, almost choking on the liquid in her mouth. “Shikamaru? Where is he? Is he okay?”

Naome felt guilty. She had been so relieved that the jonin had returned safe, that she had forgotten to ask about Shikamaru. Worry flooded her system as she set her cup aside and hopped off the counter. The sudden movement made her dizzy though. Kakashi caught her just as she fell forward.

“Relax,” he said as he helped her upright. “He’s fine. He just had a few minor burns so the hospital is checking him out. You need to take care of you first. Finish the water, and then we will go.”

“Okay.” Naome conceded. She grabbed the cup of water again and drank it all down. She set the empty cup on the table before turning to her sensei again. Setting eyes on him for the first time with absolute clarity, she realized that Kakashi was scuffed up too, including some rips and tears in his clothing and even his mask..

“Are you hurt anywhere?” She asked as she reached out to examine his arms and body. Kakashi shook his head, not wanting to worry the girl.

“I’m fine. Besides, I’ve had boulders on my back before. Nothing beats that.” He said with a wink. 

Naome scowled at him and sent him a “hmph!” before she walked away, into his bathroom. She took a few minutes to clean up. She washed her face, and combed out her rats’ nest of hair before she walked out. Kakashi had changed into fresh clothes and was waiting for her at the door. They left together to visit Shikamaru at the hospital.

When they got to the hospital, they were directed to a room where Naruto and Shikamaru both were. Naome’s eyes widened when she saw Naruto in the hospital bed next to Shikamaru, and Sakura attending to him. She hadn’t realized her own teammates were called to the mission as well. They must have been recruited by the hokage as backup because Shikamaru hadn’t mentioned anything about them before.

After she saw her teammates, she turned to Shikamaru who was there, napping on the bed. She immediately went up to him and gently touched his face, leaning in to give him a peck on the forehead, light enough to not stir him from his sleep.

“How is he?” Naome asked Sakura who came over to take a look at his chart.

“Hm...he looks fine. There were a couple of minor burns from the explosions when he blew up Hidan. The other thing is, after the fight, he was dangerously low on chakra so he collapsed on the way back. He’ll have to stay in the hospital for tonight so the doctors can monitor him, but he should be fine to go home tomorrow.” Sakura said. 

Naome turned to look at the blonde goofball who was talking animatedly with Kakashi about the success of his new jutsu. His right arm had been wrapped in a cast. “What about Naruto? Is he going to be okay?”

Sakura sighed. “Naruto’s new jutsu is quite damaging,” she said with a low voice. “I don’t want to break the news to him, but he shouldn’t be using the new jutsu anymore.”

“Oh…” Naome saddened at the sight of her teammate. She hadn’t realized he had been working on a new jutsu too. She had just wished she could have been there to help.

Naome sat down in a chair next to Shikamaru’s bed and frowned as she took in his state. He looked physically worn out and a little broken, but nonetheless, he was here with her now. That was something she couldn’t be more thankful about. She sat by his side for another half hour before Kakashi stood next to her and spoke up.

“You should get something to eat.” The copycat ninja said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You haven’t eaten all day.”

“Neither have you.” Naome reminded him. She knew she had to get going anyways. Her aunt and uncle must have been worried when they realized Shikamaru had left, and Naome was also nowhere to be found as well. It would probably be best to check-in with the two. She turned to Shikamaru one last time, and placed a kiss on his forehead. Afterwards, she walked to the door of the room where kakashi stood, waiting for her.

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura called to the jonin. “What about your-”

Kakashi cut her off with a shake of his head, hoping that Naome hadn’t noticed the exchange. Fortunately for him, Naome was staring at the genius chunin who was laying on the bed. His heart ached when he followed her gaze, but he figured the pain was from the fight with Kakuzu earlier where the man literally tried to rip his heart out.

“Let’s go.” Kakashi said, guiding Naome out the door. “I’ll walk you back.”

Sakura stared after her sensei in concern. She had heard from Ino earlier about how the enemy tried to invade Kakashi’s body, burying the dark threads deep into his chest. When the mission was over though, he had disappeared. She knew now that he had gone to bring Naome to see Shikamaru, but still she was hoping her sensei would get his wounds checked out as well.

\---

Kakashi accompanied Naome back to the Nara residence in silence. This time though, it was a comfortable silence where the two simply appreciated the company of each other. Neither of them brought up the moment from early in the morning, though both of them were thinking hard about it.

Naome didn’t know whether or not to bring it up. The idea of it was still so taboo altogether that she wasn’t sure what Kakashi thought about it. In fact, she was almost positive that Kakashi had only acted out on it because he was either half asleep, or he was in a moment of lust and confusion.

Kakashi on the other hand, seemed to have a bigger headache now that he was analyzing what had happened in the morning, than when he was trying to figure out how to kill the man that had five hearts. He had known for the longest time that Naome had feelings for him. He had known that he himself, was probably developing feelings for her too, no matter how strongly he tried to deny them. 

He had secretly wondered to himself before, what it would be like to allow himself to have those feelings, and to show her just how much he appreciated her. He had wondered for a moment what it would be like to just be with her openly. He had thought about it so often that when she came knocking in her vulnerable state in the morning, he couldn’t hold back anymore. The question was, what did he want to happen in the future?

They arrived at the Nara residence and Naome slid open the door. “Aunty? Uncle? I’m back.”

Within seconds, Yoshino and Shikaku came bounding down the hallway with wide eyes. Yoshino burst out in tears, pulling the kunoichi into her arms, and hugging her tightly.

“Thank goodness you’re home. Where have you been?” She pulled away slightly and looked at Naome before looking up at Kakashi. Her eyes scanned the two of them before she asked, “Where’s Shikamaru?”

“I’m sorry for not coming back earlier,” Naome said, “Shikamaru went out this morning to fight the two Akatsuki members. I’ve been waiting in the village for him to return.”

Yoshino’s eyes widened, “He what?!”

Kakashi went up to the panicking mother and placed a hand on her back. “Don’t worry, Yoshino-san, everything went according to his plan. I was there to supervise him. We got both of them. Shikamaru is being held in the hospital now for check up, but he’ll be coming home tomorrow.”

“You mean he did it?” Shikaku spoke for the first time. “He actually avenged Asuma?”

Kakashi nodded, a feeling of warmth entering his system at the sound of those words. “Yeah. He avenged Asuma.”

Letting out a breath of relief, Shikaku gestured for Kakashi to enter the house. “Come in, we can talk more inside.”

“It’s alright,” Kakashi said, “I was planning on heading home now anyways.”

“No, I insist!” Yoshino interrupted, she grabbed the copycat ninja’s arm and pulled him in. “We were just about to have dinner anyways! And we should definitely treat you for taking care of our son while he was gone on the mission.”

Naome giggled at Kakashi’s flustered look as he was dragged towards the dining room by the woman. She stopped when her eyes met Shikaku who was giving her a stern look. “Uncle?”

Shikaku sighed, letting go of the tension that was in his jaw. He walked over and gave the young kunoichi an affection ruffle in her hair. “Don’t worry us like that again.”

Grinning, Naome reached over and gave him a hug. “I promise I won’t do that again.” She let go of him and skipped into the dining room. Shikaku watched from behind with a smile on his face. He was worried he had lost both his son and his daughter today.

\---

Naome and Kakashi met for lunch the next day before Naome was set to pick up Shikamaru from the hospital. She remembered letting out a sigh of relief when Kakashi accepted her offer of eating together despite the fact that they had cancelled their usual training practice for the day. It meant that at least, things were still normal between the two of them and Kakashi hadn’t backed away from her again like every time they shared a moment of intimacy.

“Back again you two?” The waitress at their usual lunch spot asked as she greeted the pair at their table. 

“Oh you know it.” Kakashi replied with a wink. Naome watched with a scowl on her face when she saw the waitress leaning closer to Kakashi, her breasts right next to where his head was. It happened like this every day, except today, Kakashi was flirting right back at her!

“What can I get for you?” Naome twitched. _You? Not the two of you?_

“I’ll have the Katsudon, and she’ll have a Gyudon please.” Kakashi ordered without looking at the menu. They had the same thing every time anyways. 

Why did she even bother asking? Naome wondered, sending daggers to the waitress as she walked away, her hips swaying tauntingly in Kakashi’s direction. 

“You know…” Kakashi eyed the kunoichi across from him, “if looks could kill, I should be training you on this new jutsu of yours.”

Naome turned back to her sensei, glaring in his direction too. “What did you say?”

Kakashi jumped back a bit, shocked by the sudden hostile bite to her words. He had no idea what he had done to make her angry this time. “N-nothing.”

Naome turned to look out the window, not even paying attention to the main in front of him. Her arms crossed as her eyebrows knitted together. 

“Are you mad at me?” Kakashi asked, trying to get her attention. When she didn’t reply he reached out and uncrossed one of her arms, taking her hand in his. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” She bit back. 

“Uh…” Kakashi didn’t even know what he had been in trouble for in the first place. Luckily he was saved by the server returning with their food. The girl looked awkwardly between the two of them. She stared at their locked hands, at the glare Naome was sending at her, and the silver-haired ninja who didn’t even acknowledge her existence. She set the bowls down, bowed, and walked away.

Satisfied by this new interaction, a smile returned to Naome’s face. “Nevermind let’s eat.”

Kakashi stared in wonder at the girl in front of him. It was like she had done a 180 in mere seconds. Picking up his bowl, he cautiously ate, wondering if she would suddenly be mad at him again. Maybe that’s why he was never in a relationship, he thought to himself. Despite how scary Naome was at times though, he couldn’t help but have a warm feeling every time he was with her. 

\---

After lunch, the two of them made their way to the hospital. When they got to the front, Kakashi excused himself. “I forgot, I have some errands to do,” he said. In truth, he didn’t want to get cornered by Sakura to do an examination. Also, he didn’t quite want to see the reunion between Naome and Shikamaru.

“Oh...well okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Naome asked.

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.” Kakashi said before he held up his hand sign and teleported away. 

Naome stared at the copycat ninja in confusion, wondering why he was in such a rush to leave all of a sudden. Shrugging it off, she went into the hospital to see Shikamaru.

Shikamaru was a lot better today. He was sitting up in the hospital bed, looking a lot more refreshed after having many hours of sleep to rest his body and regain his chakra. His minor burns were covered up with bandaids, though there weren’t many spots to begin with. He smiled when he saw Naome walk in.

“Hey,” he said. It had only occurred to him now, that the last time they spoke, they were arguing about him leaving. 

“Hey.” Naome walked up next to his bed and sat on the side of it, taking his hands in hers. “How are you feeling?”

Shikamaru yawned, “a lot better. Though I still feel like sleeping.”

Naome laughed, “you lazy bum. You always want to sleep. It’s past noon already. You’ve had way too many hours of sleep. C’mon, let’s get you out of here. Even Naruto already went home.”

“Yeah, well I was waiting for you.” Shikamaru replied, a blush forming on his cheeks. 

Naome raised an eyebrow. “Really? You sure it’s not the nice and comfy hospital bed that you stayed for?”

When Shikamaru let out a scowl, Naome chuckled and gave him a peck on the lips. As she was pulling away though, Shikamaru raised an arm and pulled her back into him, their lips meeting again with more pressure and passion. 

Breaking the kiss for a brief second, Naome spoke. “We should get you discharged now.”

“No, that can wait. I think I can spend some more time here.” With a smirk, Shikamaru pulled her into a kiss again. Naome gave in and smiled against his lips. It had been a while since they were intimate with each other, and she sure as hell was glad that he was okay and back to the normal Shikamaru now. Asuma’s death had taken a toll on their relationship, but for now, it seems like everything was all behind them.

\---

Kakashi didn’t know why he was doing this to himself. He stood on a tree branch outside of Shikamaru’s hospital room window, watching the two as they interacted. He couldn’t bring himself to look away when he saw how affectionately Naome looked at the chunin. He couldn’t look away when she grabbed Shikamaru’s hand. And now, he found his heart shattering when he watched her lean in and kiss him on the lips.

Why was he doing this to himself? Why was he watching despite the fact that he knew he would be hurting inside? Maybe he thought seeing them together would give him more clarity so that he could break off his romantic feelings for his student. But now he knew, it was worse than he thought.

He was hurting inside. He knew it wasn’t right. He still wanted her nonetheless.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Explicit content in this chapter.

To hope that things would go back to the way they were, was a dream that was far, far out of her reach, Naome realized. It didn’t take more than a day for Naome to recognize that something was wrong with Shikamaru. His usual expressionless self was even more closed off than usual. He no longer seemed to have motivation to better himself, and worst of all, he was easily irritated at everything that came his way.

Naome remembered the first day back, Shikamaru refused to apologize to his parents for worrying them the entire day. It didn’t seem like much at first because they all knew he was hell bent on avenging Asuma, so in his mind there was nothing to apologize for. Besides, he was successful on his quest.

Then later that night, Naome realized that Shikamaru was tossing and turning in his sleep. They stayed well separated on the bed, but she could still feel him turning, even when she was deep in sleep. The next morning, Shikamaru had snapped at her for accidentally waking him up when she was preparing to go to training. Naome put his moodiness off as a result from his lack of sleep.

It was after the first few days that Naome decided it would be a better idea to leave Shikamaru alone in his room. Her own mood had considerably worsened and she figured he needed some space to find himself again. Besides, maybe he would get a better night’s sleep having his whole bed to himself. So she began sleeping in the guest room again. 

The next two weeks were the same thing. On and off, Shikamaru’s mood would be visibly sour. He began getting angry whenever he lost to his father in shogi. He sometimes would go on hunger strikes if he wasn’t in a good mood. Occasionally, he even got angry at Naome for leaving early and returning home late (even though she was still on time for dinner each night). Tsunade had kept both Team Asuma and Team Kakashi off missions so that they could rest, but despite that, everyone was still training on their own time. Shikamaru, on the other hand, refused to go to practice and he just remained home, or walked around town with his head down.

At home, it seemed as if everyone was walking on eggshells around him. Yoshino and Shikaku would stay silent during the dinner, not wanting to say the wrong things to foul their son’s mood, and Naome found herself dreading going home and facing Shikamaru every day.

“Shouldn’t you be heading back now?” Kakashi asked Naome one evening as they strolled around the forested area. The two had been walking and talking the entire time after lunch, but the sun was setting and Kakashi knew that meant that Naome was supposed to be home for dinner.

Naome let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t want to go back.”

Concerned, Kakashi stopped in his tracks and looked the kunoichi in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Naome stuck her hands in her pockets and looked up at the orange hue of the clouds above. “Everything is just different now, you know? Shikamaru...he’s just...angry every time. No matter what I do or say, or even what I don’t do or say, he just gets upset.”

Kakashi stood there, listening to the girl wholeheartedly. Deep inside, he wanted to kill Shikamaru for ever hurting Naome. He brushed the feelings aside as just wanting to protect his student.

“I mean, you’re always welcome to my place,” Kakashi said, “but you should probably see if there’s anything to do to fix the relationship. You have such a good relationship with his parents, it would suck if there’s a strain there now too. Besides, I don’t think Shikamaru is angry at you. I think he’s just adjusting to life without Asuma here. He’s probably still hurting inside and he doesn’t know how to cope.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured too.” Naome let out another sigh before she turned around and began walking in the way they came. “Let’s go. I should probably go back now before they get worried.”

The smile on Naome’s face made Kakashi weary but he went along with it anyways. Afterall, what did he know about relationships? He just hoped that in the end, she was happy, even if that meant that she stayed with Shikamaru. Even he couldn’t deny it, that family dynamic was probably the best for her future.

\---

“Sorry I’m late.” Naome walked into the dining room after setting aside her training gear. Both Yoshino and Shikaku smiled at her fondly and welcomed her back.

“Where have you been?” Shikamaru asked from this spot.

Shocked, Naome looked at the lazy ninja. He had never questioned her before, and it wasn’t like she was that late. Judging by the food on the table, the family had just started eating. 

“Um...I was training this morning…”

“And then?” 

“And then I had lunch with Kakashi-sensei and we went for a walk.” Naome said. She already knew she was going to hear an earful from the Shikamaru because for some reason, Shikamaru didn’t like her teacher. Usually she would be understanding of that because he had been jealous before of their time spent together, but now, she was losing tolerance. She was growing tired of his moodiness.

“You what?!” Shikamaru slammed his bowl onto the table. He set a glare in Naome’s direction. 

“Shikamaru,” Yoshino reprimanded softly. 

Shikamaru ignored his mother. He closed his eyes, counted to five, and let out a shaky breath. “You know how I feel about you visiting him.”

“I wasn’t visiting him, Shikamaru. He was helping me train, and then we went out for lunch and went for a walk-Like we always do!” Naome shot back. 

Shikamaru flinched at the thought of it. “Always?”

“Always. Every freakin’ day Shikamaru. I’m sorry you’ve been gone for so many days that you don’t know, but that’s the truth.”

“Why?! Why him?!” Shikamaru yelled, breaking out of his confusion.

“Because he’s the only one I can talk to while you’re away! I’m sorry, I don’t have as many friends as you do in this village. Everyone else is busy training with their friends and their mentors. What about me?”

“What about you? What about me? Have you ever considered how I felt being around the two of you? Do I go flaunting my relationship with Temari in front of you?” That hit a sensitive nerve in Naome, making her flinch as if she had been punched. Shikamaru stood up, turning to walk away. “Forget it. I don’t need to be talking to someone who is going around whoring herself out.”

“SHIKAMARU!” 

The entire house froze at the sound of Shikaku’s voice echoing loud and clear. The father had listened enough, and alas, his son had broken the straw. He stood up, marching up to his son with an angry look on his face. “You apologize to her right now.”

“Or what?” Shikamaru mumbled under his breath.

“Or I’m going to forget I ever had a son like you. I never raised my kid to speak like this.” 

Shikamaru turned away from his father. “I’m sorry. Sorry that you couldn’t have a daughter like her instead. At least she wouldn’t be a failure of a son like me.”

Shikamaru’s footsteps echoed in the house on his way up the stairs and into his bedroom. The door slammed behind him, leaving an ominous aura throughout the rest of the house.

\---

After dinner, Naome went up to Shikamaru’s room. She took a long, deep breath, before knocking on the door.

“Go away.” 

Ignoring his words, Naome invited herself in anyways. Shikamaru was on the bed with his back facing the door. He hadn’t even changed into his pyjamas yet, his ponytail tied high at the top of his head. “I told you to go away.”

“What happened to us, Shikamaru?” Naome said. The previous fight, along with each and every one before that, had broken her. Now she was just lost, and hoping for an answer. “What’s going on?”

Shikamaru closed his eyes. Her words reverberated in his mind as he thought about it. He thought long and hard, trying to dissect what had been happening recently. He knew he was easily agitated. Everything in the world pissed him off. His family, his teammates, training, eating, sleeping, and to his worst nightmare, even seeing Naome made him frustrated. He couldn’t understand why either. “I don’t know.” His voice cracked as he spoke.

Surprised by his own voice, he realized he had begun crying, his tears falling for the first time since Asuma’s death. He thought he was done crying. He thought he had gotten over it all, but he didn’t.

Naome, noticing Shikamaru’s shoulders shake a bit, went over to the side of his bed. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly. This was the first form of intimacy they had since the day that Shikamaru was discharged from the hospital. It had been so long that Naome had forgotten the warmth that he imparted from his body. She stood silently, watching over him with an aching heart as he broke down in front of her.

“I-I’m sorry.” Shikamaru said. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

“It’s okay,” Naome’s words were soft and soothing, almost as if she was caring for a baby. “You’re hurting still. I know now.” 

She stayed next to him that night, giving him gentle rubs on the back and light kisses to the forehead before he fell sound asleep. She too, gave in, hoping that starting the next day, they would only progress from there.

\---

Things only got worse. At first, Shikamaru seemed like he was in a better mood the next day, but when Naome returned home from her training, he was back to being extremely irritated again. The cycle continued. Yelling, screaming, apologizing. Shouting, hurting, apologizing. Even the parents have stepped in more often, making the entire household dynamic darker and heavier than it had been before. 

It was one night, when Naome didn’t return home for dinner, and had come home after Yoshino and Shikaku had gone to sleep, that the worst of the worst happened. 

It had been raining outside so Naome changed out of her clothes as soon as she got to her room. She pulled on her white pyjamas t-shirt and a pair of comfy cotton shorts. She had just let her hair loose when Shikamaru burst into the room.

Naome stared, wide-eyed at the ninja. “Shikamaru?”

“Where were you?” 

Naome rolled her eyes. It was yet another one of these conversations. She was sick and tired of having to explain herself every day. “I went out for dinner with my team.”

“Your whole team?” Shikamaru asked, eyes narrowing.

“Yes. Literally the whole freakin’ team! It was Jiraiya’s birthday so literally the whole freakin’ team was there! Naruto, Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune, oh and of course KAKASHI!” Naome couldn’t help but raise her voice towards the end. She was getting so frustrated.

“So why did your dinner end so late?” 

“Because it’s Jiraiya’s birthday for Christ’s sake! You know how much that old man drinks! He got drunk with Lady Tsunade, and we spent a good hour dragging them back to their houses. You can ask the whole town, everyone saw!”

“Well-”

“Listen,” Naome cut him off. Her voice was low and shaky from the words she was about to say. “I’m tired Shikamaru. I’m tired of all of this. I don’t even know if I can be around you anymore.”

Shikamaru was shell shocked at the girl’s confession. He dropped his head, unsure of what to say. “But...but you already know why I’m acting like this…”

“Asuma is gone, Shikamaru.” Naome replied. “He’s been gone. When are you going to wake up in your life and move on from this?”

“Easy for you to say.” Another wave of anger and frustration hit Shikamaru, but it had left Naome unfazed now. She was used to it. “Who was Asuma to you?”

“Asuma was my sensei too you know!” Naome shot back. “And guess what? He’s gone! He’s dead! Quit using him as an excuse for all the problems in your life!”

“You’ve barely known him! You know nothing about losing someone close to you. You never have!” 

“Are you being fucking serious right now Shikamaru?” Naome asked. She was angry. She was hurt. She was frustrated. She was upset. 

“Yeah, I’m serious.” His voice was dark and bitter as he spoke, “You said it yourself the other day. You’re close to no one here, you have no one in your life. You don’t even have a home! So how can you lose someone close to you? You know nothing about what I’m feeling!”

Naome’s tears were falling now. She had never imagined that Shikamaru of all people would be hurting her in the worst way possible. All her life, she had been alone. She had lost her parents at a young age. She had no one to care for her, and no one she cared for, until she came to Konoha. And yet, even when she was here, she had every insecurity in the world about being the outsider. She found refuge in his arms. She had opened up her heart to him, and he knew everything about her past and about her feelings. Yet here he was, saying the most hurtful things he could think of to her. 

“I-I’m leaving.” She was so broken, so hurt, that she didn’t even know what she was doing when she ran out of the room and out the front door all together. She wasn’t sure if she heard Shikamaru calling after her or if it was just the sound of the rain pouring and hitting the ground beneath her feet.

It was dark out, especially since the Nara residence was on the outskirts of the village, but she ran anyway. She travelled through the familiar streets, her hair blowing wildly in her face, and her eyes blurry from the rain and her tears. The dim lights strung across the street reflected off the ground from puddles as she ran through the town. 

There were many people watching her, but there were a few that were shocked at the girl running through the pouring rain without an umbrella or a jacket. It was cold, and the rain stung as it hit her bare arms and legs, but she kept going anyway. 

The words that Shikamaru said kept replaying in her mind, stabbing her heart more and more each time. She looked around her as she ran. The place she decided to call home was, as he had mentioned, not her home. She didn’t belong anywhere, no matter what she did for the village and no matter how long she spent there. She tried, she really did, to fit in. And for a couple of months there, she finally felt that she found her place, found her routine, and found her life. With just a few of his words though, it had all broken down.

Struggling to catch her breath, Naome slowed to a walk. Her feet carrying her aimlessly around the village. She continued wandering. After a while, she began shivering. The heat from her run had warm off, and she was freezing from being soaked head to toe in rain water. Unable to go back to the Nara residence, she went to the only place she knew.

\---

Kakashi had just about fallen asleep in bed when a knock came on his door. Confused, he went to open the door, only to widen his eyes in shock at the girl standing in front of his apartment. For a brief second, he almost didn’t recognize her with her hair drenched and tangled from the rain, and the cotton t-shirt and shorts she was wearing.

“Naome, what are you doing here?” He noticed her tears for the first time. At first, he thought her face was simply wet from the droplets of rain, but he realized she was crying hysterically, and even more so, now that he was standing in front of her.

Naome reached out subconsciously to the male in front of her. Kakashi immediately pulled her into his arms, ignoring the fact that now his clothes were beginning to soak through from the body contact. He pulled her in, and shut the door behind them. Once inside, he held the crying girl in his arms as she continued to bawl her eyes out wordlessly.

He didn’t really need to ask to know what had happened. His student had been complaining almost every day about Shikamaru’s sudden change in temperament, and he could only watch as day by day, the life in her eyes drained from the tension at home. Even during the birthday dinner today, she hadn’t said much despite her usual quirky personality.

“I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.” Naome said, after she had calmed down a bit. To Kakashi’s disappointment, she backed away from him so that they were no longer touching. “I should go-”

“No, stay.” He didn’t know what had overcome him. Just a few months ago, he was adamant that the girl could not stay over at his residence, and yet here he was. “I told you already. You’re welcome here anytime.”

Her broken eyes warmed a bit at the sound of his words. Kakashi could tell she was still a bit hesitant though. He decided he was acting upon her safety, as her teacher, rather than his own feelings now. At least, that was the excuse he gave himself. “I’m serious. I don’t want you going back there tonight. Stay.”

With that, Naome gave in. She looked around the apartment. Although she was more than familiar with the space, she felt awkward standing inside it for once, knowing that she was going to stay the night.

“What’s wrong? Come in.” Kakashi said as he made his way to the kitchen. He filled some water into a kettle and set it on the stove to bowl. He turned to eye the girl leaning awkwardly against the dining table facing him before realizing that he could see right through her shirt. The rain had soaked the white t-shirt completely through and he could see the bra she was wearing underneath.

Clearing his throat, he immediately spun around to force his eyes off of her figure. He could feel his pants growing uncomfortably tight again and he knew he would be sent straight to hell if he acted upon his dirty thoughts. 

“I’m gonna make you some warm water. You should go take a hot shower, otherwise you’re going to catch a cold. I’ll lend you a shirt of mine.” Kakashi said. He waited for the kunoichi to be out of the room before he let out a sigh of relief. His boner disappeared as he heard the water turn on in the washroom.

When the kettle rang, he poured out a mug of hot water and set it on the bedside table for her. Afterwards, he went into his closet and pulled out another cotton t-shirt along with a pair of loose fitting boxers. He didn’t have any shorts, so he figured that the boxers would have to do. He let her know that the clothes would be just outside the bathroom door before he went to the couch and laid down there. He resigned himself to the fact that he would have to sleep on the sofa for the night, afterall, he couldn’t let a girl sleep out in the living room. 

“Um...Kakashi, I hope you don’t mind. I borrowed a fresh towel from under your sink.” Kakashi shot up from his spot when he heard the kunoichi’s voice. She had a towel in her hands as she rubbed her hair dry.

“No, it’s okay.” He said.

“Oh, and I also left my clothes hanging in your washroom to dry.” Kakashi froze as he examined his clothes on her body. He gulped as he felt a familiar heat returning. She just looked so sexy in his clothes. The oversized t-shirt hung long and baggy to the point where he couldn’t even see the boxers underneath. The neck hole was wide so it almost hung off of one of her shoulders. It was then that he noticed there weren’t any bra straps on the exposed shoulder.

He groaned quietly, the bulge in his pants growing in response. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Of course, it must have also been soaked in the rain. 

“Kakashi?” Naome’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, though barely. Now he was busy staring at the lips that he had kissed before and wanted to nibble on again. “Where should I put the towel?”

“Oh, there’s a laundry basket in my closet, under some of the hanging clothes.” He said. He would have taken it from her and done it himself, but it wasn’t exactly a good time for him to get up.

Naome walked off into the closet for a few moments before she called out to him again. “Sensei, I can’t find it!”

Letting out a deep breath, he sat up and adjusted his pants slightly before he went to the closet himself. He stood behind the kunoichi who was peering into the closet. Leaning forward, he took the towel out of her hand and reached over her shoulder to place it into the basket hidden in the far corner. 

From his position, he could smell his shampoo and body wash radiating off of her, and he couldn’t help but think he liked it on her more than himself. His arm had reached over the exposed shoulder and he couldn’t help but peek down. He noticed her nipples poking out just slightly from the fabric of the t-shirt and let out a small lust filled groan.

“Sensei?” Naome turned around when she heard the noise her sensei made. Her eyes widened as she realized she was dangerously close to the man in front of her. She bit her lower lip in nervousness as her arms went up instinctively to rest on his chest, either to keep a distance between the two, or to feel him more, she didn’t know.

Kakashi looked down at Naome’s swollen lips and gave her another once over before he decided he couldn’t take it anymore. “Naome…” 

He swiftly pulled his mask off his head, so that it would be out of the way all together. Throwing it to the side, he leaned into the girl. He stopped just briefly to make eye contact with her. “Can I?”

Unable to speak from shock, Naome nodded instead. Immediately, Kakashi’s lips were on hers. She let out a deep breath that she didn’t even know she had been holding. It had been just over two weeks since they last kissed and both of them knew that the sexual tension was just growing every day since then. Finally, she was able to relax again, as she let her hands roam her sensei’s body.

Without wasting any time, Kakashi placed his hands on her hips and lifted her up. The way her legs felt when they were wrapped around his waist was just as perfect as he had imagined. He laid her down on the bed and leaned over her, sucking vigorously on her bottom lip until they were moist and swollen. 

Naome was well aware of how turned on her sensei had been as he leaned into her body while they were making out. All care had gone out the window when she felt him grind his bulge into her crotch. She knew she had soaked through Kakashi’s boxers with her juices because hell, she was just as turned on as he was at that moment. It hadn’t been that long since her last time with Shikamaru, one or two months at most, but she wanted this moment for the longest time. She wanted it to be Kakashi almost since she first set eyes on him.

Suddenly, Kakashi came to a halt. His eyes met hers with a sense of uncertainty. She knew what he was thinking because she was thinking the same thing too. He was her teacher, and she was his student. They were captain and team member. Mentor and pupil. But hell to all that, she wanted him anyways. 

Reaching up, she pulled Kakashi down to her again, bringing their lips together. She threaded her fingers through his hair. Breaking the kiss again, with heavy breaths, she spoke, “Kakashi, I want you.”

That seemed to do it. Immediately, Kakashi had washed away all of his fears. He decided he would deal with the consequences another day. He trailed his lips down the side of Naome’s neck, along the exposed shoulder that his t-shirt so graciously left for him. At the same time, one of his hands went up the bottom of the shirt, feeling around her soft skin, and sending shivers down her spine. 

He nibbled on her exposed collarbone, careful not to leave a mark, as he reached up and grabbed her breast for the first time. He moaned into her body, and his hips automatically grinded forward when he felt the softness of the mound in his hand. He detached his lips and reached to pull the shirt completely off of her body. 

Embarrassed by the sudden nakedness, Naome crossed her arms over her chest. Kakashi chuckled as he witnessed the red blush tinting her cheeks. “Now you’re embarrassed? You were such a tease all those other times.” 

He pulled her arms away, and trapped them above her head in one hand. With the other, he reached down to one breast and pinched the nipple harshly between his fingers. Naome let out a loud moan, her back arching at the pain but pleasure she was feeling. “I gotta punish you for all those times you were teasing me.”

Before Naome could open her mouth to protest, Kakashi latched onto the other breast with his mouth, sucking and nibbling at the nipple as he continued playing with the other one in his hand. Naome let out another loud moan when she felt him biting lightly onto the sensitive nub. 

“Kakashi….”

Kakashi chuckled, “Really? That’s not what you called me all those other times.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Naome replied in between her gasps of air. 

“Oh really…” Kakashi brought his hand down from her breast to her pussy. He hastily pulled off the boxers before rubbing the wetness with two fingers, making sure to just avoid making contact with her clit and her throbbing hole. He watched in amusement as the girl squirmed helplessly under him, trying to draw more contact to his fingers. 

“Kakashi…” She groaned again, more needy this time. “Please.”

“Nuh-uh, not until you say it.”

“Please, I want it in.” She whispered, tears of frustration growing her in her eyes. Kakashi purposely slipped just the fingertips in, not even enough to stretch her walls. She squeezed her eyes shut, wanting more.

“Kakashi, please.” She cried, “Kakashi-sensei!”

“There you go.” He said with a smirk on his face. He entered her fingers into her dripping wet hole, stretching it as he went. He rolled his eyes back in ecstasy at the way his fingers were absorbed and the walls were pulling him in. “Fuck.”

Curling his fingers, he easily found her g-spot which was confirmed when she cried out. Her breathing became quicker with every movement of his hand as he fingered her opening at a quick but consistent pace. Seeing how wet she was for him, made him curious. He let go of her hands and lowered himself so that he was face to face with her core. He gave a test lick on her clit, earning him a strangled moan. The next time he went in, he fully committed, sucking on the delicate nub and rolling his tongue around it as he continued to finger her. Naome was quickly becoming undone. She reached down and grabbed Kakashi’s hair as she desperately clung to the man. She felt a familiar heat in her stomach and her back arched. 

“Sensei!” She came hard, her body convulsing wildly in the arms of the man. She watched as   
Kakashi licked his fingers with a smirk on his face. His eyes softened when he noticed the kunoichi relaxing on the bed, her eyes hazy as she came down from her high.

“We can stop here. You’re tired.” He said, as he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

“No!” Naome cried. She shot up, almost knocking into Kakashi as she did. She pulled at the shirt that he was still wearing and gestured for him to take it off. “I...I still want it.”

Kakashi raised his eyebrows in amusement. “What did you say?”

She turned her face away from him, but Kakashi held her chin in place as he leaned closer. “What did you say Naome-chan?” He repeated.

“I still want it.” 

“Want what?”

Naome groaned in frustration. She reached over to his lap and grabbed his cock through his boxers. Kakashi yelped as she gave him a hard squeeze. “I want your cock inside me, Kakashi-sensei.”

Kakashi didn’t need to be asked twice of course. He quickly threw his shirt off to the side, and discarded his boxers, allowing his member to spring free. Naome felt herself growing wet again as she laid eyes on the long, hard shaft. Without wasting another second, Kakashi was in between her legs again. He pulled her legs over his shoulders as he leaned in, pressing the tip of his cock against her opening.

“You sure?” He asked again. He was answered by Naome pulling him down for a searing kiss. Giving in, he thrust his member inside, groaning at the heat that surrounded him. He paused for a second, thinking he could cum just from the sensation of having her around him. He was right when he had thought that they might fit perfectly together. 

“Sensei!” She called again as she tried to press her hips down into his. Without a second thought, Kakashi began thrusting. Naome was breathless each time Kakashi slammed into her, filling her to the hilt. She had almost cried at how good it felt each time he pressed against her g-spot, sending her head spinning. 

Kakashi continued thrusting. One of his hands found its way to one of her breasts and he massaged it as he went. He rubbed the sensitive tip between his fingers, making Naome whimper beneath him. He leaned in, kissing her deeply as he continued to pleasure her. He could feel her tightening around him as her moans got louder and more desperate.

“F-fuck!. Kakashi-sensei, I can’t, I can’t hold it. I’m about to…”

“Cum. Cum for me baby.” 

With the sound of his encouragement, she burst. The tension in her stomach released and her juices gushed out from around Kakashi’s cock. Feeling her contractions, Kakashi groaned as she continued thrusting into her. His movements were getting sloppy as he felt himself nearing the edge as well. 

“Oh fuck!” The copycat ninja cursed as he pulled out at the last minute to spurt white ropes all over Naome’s body. He cringed. He hadn’t intended to defile her like that, but in the heat of things he didn’t have time to use contraceptive measures. 

After a few moments of heavy breathing and returning back to reality, Kakashi went to the bathroom to wet a rag before returning to the bed. Naome had nearly fallen asleep already when he gently wiped the liquid off of her. He threw the rag into the laundry basket and got into the bed next to her. He pulled the blanket over their naked bodies and sighed, taking in the sight of the girl next to him. She had dozed off by then, and Kakashi finally had time to admire each one of her features up close. His heart fluttered as he scanned her long eyelashes and the flush on her cheeks. Reaching over, he gave the girl a small kiss on the forehead.

He knew he would have to deal with the consequences tomorrow but right now, he was just enjoying every moment he could with her.

For the first time in a long time, he was feeling genuinely happy, and it was all thanks to her.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning came and went. Neither of Kakashi nor Naome made a move to get up from the bed, and neither of them brought up the events from the night before though their naked bodies under the sheets said more than enough already. The air wasn’t tense. It was just that both of them were lost in their own thoughts throughout the whole morning.

It was a bit different than Naome had thought it would be. Neither of them were cuddling one another, in fact, their bodies never touched and they never made eye contact. The morning after was always rough, she figured, especially when you didn't know where each other stood in the relationship. But for some reason, it seemed a lot more manageable with Shikamaru the first time they had done it. Then it hit her. Shikamaru…

“We need to talk-,” 

“Don’t, please.” Naome begged as she cut him off. 

Kakashi sat up and leaned against the headboard, the blanket falling to his lap and exposing his chest. “Naome, we need to talk about this.”

Naome wasn’t ready for this. She hadn’t realized how this morning would have gone. She wasn’t ready for Kakashi pushing her away after their one night stand. She wasn’t ready to have her heart crushed because Kakashi didn’t acknowledge or return her feelings. She wasn’t ready to have to return home to Shikamaru and look him in the eye after having slept with her sensei of all people.

Reality hit her like a wrecking ball. She had to go home and explain this to Shikamaru. She had to go home, look the man she loved in the eye, and let him know that she cheated on him. Naome sat up too and pulled her knees to her chest while burying her head in her arms. 

“Please Kakashi, I can’t talk about this right now.” 

Kakashi watched in pain as she sheltered herself away from him. It seemed they both knew that whatever this was, was over.

“Okay,” He said. He leaned over and gave her one last reassuring kiss on the top of her head before he grabbed his clothes and walked into the bathroom. He allowed the warm water to stream over his body as he hung his head in deep thought.

He wanted to be with her so bad. He wanted to return her feelings and hold her close, but despite all the issues with age and seniority, and the idea that the whole village might condemn them, the only thing that was holding him back was the thought of hurting her.

He knew he wasn’t ready to be in a relationship. His heart wasn’t ready to be shattered again by losing someone close to him. He’d rather not have such emotional attachment to someone because after all, everyone that he had was now gone. His parents, his teammates, his sensei. It wasn’t until he made a move forward last night that he realized his past still haunted him, pulling him ten steps back. A part of his heart was still with Rin.

“Damn it!” He hissed as he hit a closed fist into the tiles of the shower wall. He must have cracked something but he couldn’t feel it. 

He was a grown man now, meaning he knew what was good for him, and he knew he should be moving on. But when it came down to it, he still had flashbacks every day and night of the girl he once loved. Seeing Naome reminded him of her too, which explained why he was so overprotective of her. He knew he should fight to overcome every obstacle and be with someone who genuinely loved him and more than anyone, deserved to be loved as well. But he just couldn’t do it.

Kakashi had spent enough time in the shower that it began running the hot water dry. The others in his apartment complex would hate him. He quickly got dressed, brushed his teeth and pulled on his black mask as usual. When he opened the door, the kunoichi was no longer in his bed. Kakashi’s heart dropped as he thought about her leaving without a word, but then he sniffed a familiar scent of eggs and bacon from the kitchen. 

He reached his bed and threw his bedsheets into the laundry bin before heading out into the kitchen. Standing further behind, he admired Naome’s gracefulness as she maneuvered around the kitchen. Her once messy hair was pulled back into a loose bun, and his t-shirt hung off one shoulder on her like the night before. Kakashi gulped, what he would do to take her again right this very instant. 

“I know you’re there you know.” Naome said as she turned around and brought two plates of finished breakfasts to the dining table.

Kakashi grinned, despite the fact that he had been caught red handed. “I thought I would learn a thing or two about cooking,” he lied.

Naome scoffed as she took a seat. “If I need to teach you how to fry an egg and skillet bacon, we have a major problem here.”

Kakashi gave in and let out a light laugh as he took a seat and they dug into their food. They focused on their food for a few minutes before Kakashi cleared his throat. Naome looked up from her plate as Kakashi leaned back into his chair. “You know...no one can know about this.”

Naome dropped her eyes back to her food. She finished the last bite of it and stood up to wash the plate. “Yeah, I know.”

Kakashi followed after, placing his own plate in the sink. “We can’t be together.”

He watched as the girl sent him a quick nod and wordlessly finished cleaning and went back into the washroom. She came out with her old, now dried, set of clothes and headed for the door.

He caught her hand just as she was turning the handle. “Are we going to be okay?”

Naome turned to send Kakashi a small smile. Despite that, Kakashi could see the hurt in her eyes, and he knew he was asking her for the impossible. “Yeah, we’ll be okay.”

With that, he felt her arm slip from her fingertips as she walked out of his door.

\---

Naome knew she had to go back to the Nara residence. Yoshino and Shikaku had probably discovered that she had been missing and were worried about her whereabouts. She wondered for a moment if Shikamaru would have gone looking for her too whether at night, or in the morning. He must not have though, because it would have been fairly obvious where she had gone. There was only one place she felt comfortable going to.

When she arrived back, she purposely avoided the common areas and she went to get changed first into more appropriate clothing. Afterwards, she went downstairs to check in with her aunt and uncle. Shikaku had gone on to work in the hokage’s office while Naome found Yoshino out back, gathering some medicinal herbs that she was sure would be sent to the hospital.

“Hi aunty,” Naome greeted the woman as she squatted next to her and began helping her pluck the plants from the ground.

“Good morning, Naome! I’m glad to see you’re home.” No malice was in the mother’s voice despite the fact that Naome had practically run away in the middle of the night.

“I’m glad to be home too.” Home, she thought. Was it really home? Was this home anymore? Afterall, Shikamaru had made his point loud and clear the night prior. This was not her home, she was just an outsider.

Sensing the pain behind her words, and having heard the argument last night from her own room, Yoshino turned to Naome with a sad look in her eyes. “I’m sorry for the way Shikamaru has been acting lately.”

Naome smiled sadly at the woman. “No, it’s okay. I know where he’s coming from. Besides, it’s been hard on you and uncle too.”

“Yeah.” Yoshino dropped her head, “I don’t know what went wrong. Shikamaru was never like this before.”

“Let’s just give him some time.” Naome replied. As they continued working and making small talk once in a while, Naome couldn’t help but think whether or not she had given Shikamaru enough time. Part of her was sick and tired of everything and wanted to leave, but another part of her, a much greater part, couldn’t detach herself from him. She wanted to believe that time could heal everything, but it had been such a vicious cycle of yelling and verbal abuse that she wondered if she was actually stuck in a toxic relationship.

\---

It wasn’t until dinner time that Naome actually saw Shikamaru face to face. She had helped Yoshino prepare dinner and had set the table when Shikamaru joined them. Shikamaru didn’t even bat an eyelash at her as he took a seat next to the table. Naome kept her focus on her food, though her chest felt heavy from the idea that Shikamaru didn’t even want to look at her anymore. Perhaps last night had been the last straw. Perhaps their relationship was no longer mendable and he no longer wanted to put the effort into being with her anymore.

The table ate in silence, not even bothering with small talk anymore. They had much preferred it this way now because it seemed that every other time, any type of conversation would turn into a bitter argument.

Naome missed the time when the family could talk comfortably amongst themselves. She missed the time where Yoshino’s nagging would cause both Shikaku and Shikamaru to bow their heads in fear, mumbling identical sayings of “women are so troublesome” under their breath. Naome missed the times where Shikaku would tease the two younger ones about their not so discreet relationship as well as the times where Shikamaru would gloat with a giant grin on his face after beating her in a game of shogi. All of those times were gone now, and Naome couldn’t help but wonder if she was at fault for ruining it. She wondered if Shikamaru’s temper would have been milder if she wasn’t there. 

After dinner, the family spread out into their own individual activities. Yoshino went to clear the dishes, Shikaku went off to the shogi room without bothering to invite Shikamaru, and Shikamaru went up to the roof while Naome went back to her room.

She had half a mind to pack her belongings up as she looked around her room, but alas, she had nowhere to go. Perhaps it was time for her to go apartment hunting, though really, did she want to stay in Konoha if neither men could return her feelings anymore and it would just make life difficult for everyone else around her?

Sighing, Naome threw herself onto her bed and thought back to Kakashi. She tried to think about where it had gone wrong. Last night was amazing for her, and as far as she could tell, it was just as good for him as well. Yet this morning, something had clicked in both of them. Naome had wondered what it was in him that held him back too. She figured it must have been something more than the sensei-student relationship that they had because they must have been long past that already. It was then that Naome realized she knew nothing about Kakashi’s feelings or his past. Every step she took closer to the man, she felt like she was also being pushed away.

All of her thoughts gave her a headache. She closed her eyes, willing the pain to go away. Her thoughts continued running in her head and she’d wished for once, she didn’t have to think about it. Relationships are such a drag. She found herself thinking like Shikamaru and let out a small chuckle. Man did she miss the lazy genius, the real one that is. 

Eventually, her headache took over and she fell asleep on her bed.

That night, Naome had a dream. She was running through the darkness of the forest. It was a bitter cold night and there she was, alone. She was dashing through, not knowing for sure if it was because she was running to something, or away. Yet her legs kept pushing her forward, her heart pounding insistently in her chest. Naome reached a small gap in the trees. 

Feeling a presence behind her, she snapped her head around but found nothing but absolute darkness. Weary, she turned back to the front and froze at the sight in front of her. She let out a strangled scream. Her shaky legs collapsed under her as she witnessed both Shikamaru and Kakashi hanging from the trees, long swords stabbed through their chests, pinning their blood stained bodies to the trunks.

Naome’s scream echoed throughout the house as she shot up in her bed. Her clothes had been soaked through in sweat, and tears were running down her cheeks. She raised her hand to wipe it off but she realized both her hands were shaking with violent tremors. It had been a while since Naome had a bad enough nightmare to wake her from it in the middle of the night.

She curled into a ball under her blanket. She was hurting as the image continued replaying in her mind, almost as if she was trapped inside a genjutsu that she couldn’t break out of. Her tears soaked her blanket as she buried her head and cried, her body shaking in an uncontrollable manner. Tears began falling for another reason when she looked around the room and realized she was alone. Shikamaru wasn’t coming to comfort her this time.

She continued to weep in self-pity. Oh what she would do to have her old life back. To have her Shikamaru back. She didn’t know how long it had been but there was suddenly a warmth beside her. The bed dipped with a weight next to her body, and she was enveloped in comforting arms. Her head was guided to the side, into a familiar strong chest as she wept. 

“Shh...” 

Collapsing fully into the warm arms, she grasped desperately onto the male’s shirt. “I thought you weren’t going to come for me anymore.”

Shikamaru kissed the top of her head, his own heart shattering at the sight of her distraught expression.

“I know. I’m sorry.” 

Shikamaru continued holding her until she fell asleep in his arms. Only when he had lowered her down in bed and laid next to her, did he realize how much he had missed this, and how badly he had acted throughout the past two weeks.

He broke down as he looked at how vulnerable Naome was next to him, and he remembered all the things he had said to her. Despite everything that he said and did, he loved her, he still did. He knew where Naome had gone the night before, it didn’t take a genius like him to figure it out. It hurt him beyond belief, but it hurt him more that he was the one that drove her away. He still didn’t like Kakashi, for no other reason than the fact that the two of them clearly had a connection, in ways that Naome and himself did not. But as he looked at her lying so peacefully next to him, he decided that he would fight for her, even if that meant it was with his sensei.

He sighed, as he stared up at the ceiling. Naome was right, he had handled Asuma’s death really poorly, even after seeking revenge on those that had murdered him. Yet Asuma must have been raging in his grave, seeing the way that he treated Naome and his family. It was then that he made a promise to himself to treat her better because he just couldn’t bear the idea of hurting her anymore. 

He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, grinning as she snuggled closer in automatic response. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I love you.”


	19. Chapter 19

The next few days, Naome noticed a change in Shikamaru. He was somewhat turning back to normal, into someone she had loved so dearly before. He would still lounge around lazily, but his motivation to train came back. They also never really fought again, small arguments at times, yes, but he had begun to revert back to his logical self. In mere days, the entire environment in the home shifted. The two had begun to spend more time together again, and Shikamaru’s relationship with his parents improved. 

It was so easy for Naome to forget what had happened, afterall, she had never stopped loving him. Deep inside, they both knew the problem was with Shikamaru being unable to get over Asuma’s death, but in the end, they were working through it together.

Naome still had nightmares though. Not as drastic as the ones before, but definitely enough to wake her up at night with tears budding in her eyes. What made it worse was that every time, Shikamaru would wake up next to her and ask her what was wrong, and she wouldn’t be able to answer him.

Her dreams consisted of one topic only, and she figured it was likely from her guilty conscience. Every night, she dreamt that Shikamaru would find out about her one night stand with Kakashi. Every night, he would confront her, she would break his heart, and he would leave her, stranding her all alone in nothingness.

For each day that Shikamaru was healing and bettering himself, Naome felt worse and worse about what had happened. She had cheated on him. It was bad enough that her feelings for Kakashi had her cheating on Shikamaru emotionally, but she also cheated on him physically as well. At times, she couldn’t even bear to look him in the face.

Her relationship with Kakashi had gotten back to normal. So normal, in fact, that when Kakashi had spotted the two chunin walking along the street together, he greeted them with the usual smile like nothing had happened. 

“Well hello there, Shikamaru, Naome.” He smiled with his eyes as he strolled casually with his hands in his pockets. 

“Good morning.” Shikamaru replied with a curt bow in respect despite the fact that he found it difficult to face his sensei knowing what he knew. Naome’s face flushed as she awkwardly stood with the two men. 

“What are you two love birds up to this morning?” 

Shikamaru shot Kakashi a brief confused look in response to the pet name. “Just going for a walk. We thought we would go visit Asuma’s grave and then go see Kurenai-sensei. Did you want to tag along?”

Naome froze. Her face went pale at the idea. Kakashi tagging along with the two of them was not on her plan for today and she was terrified. 

Kakashi, noticing the uncharacteristic silence from the kunoichi, shot her a soft smile before responding. “It’s quite alright. I’m just going to head out to run some errands and talk with a few colleagues. You two have fun!”

With that, Kakashi walked away and the two continued on with their day.

\---

That night, Naome had the same nightmare that she had been having for the last few days. She had woken up in Kakashi’s bed after a night together. She had reached out to Kakashi, aching for any sort of comfort or intimacy, or even to express her feelings for him, but he turned away and sat up on the edge of the bed, with his back facing her.

“You should go now.” 

His voice was cold. Final. 

Naome felt her stomach sink. She felt bare, embarrassed, broken, and dejected. Afterall, her love for this man was still growing and so deep, but here she was, being completely vulnerable to him and he was turning a blind eye to it all.

“That’s what you get.”

Naome was suddenly surrounded by darkness. She looked around but nothing was there. There were voices though. Echoing. Everywhere. 

_“That’s what you get.” “You’re such a whore.” “How could you do that to someone who loves you so much?” “You like playing around? Well I’m happy you got played too.” “You don’t deserve either of them, you lying, cheating, self-centered, whore.”_

Naome curled into a ball, covering her ears with her hands and shutting her eyes, but it was no use. She could hear it all. Every single word was like a dagger being stabbed into her body. The reality hurt her.

She was a whore. She had broken the trust of someone, arguably, one of the only ones that truly loved her for who she was. Every time she heard it, she believed it more and more.

She felt a presence around her. Removing her hands and standing up, she saw Shikamaru’s figure in front of her. She tried to reach out for him, but her body wouldn’t move. No matter how much she called for him, he wouldn’t turn around. Her voice never escaped her body.

When he did respond to her though, and turned to look at her, he held a look of hatred and disgust on his face. His eyes were cold, more so than she had ever seen before.

_“I don’t need to be talking to someone who is going around whoring herself out.”_

With that, he walked away. Leaving her in absolute darkness yet again.

Naome opened her eyes from the nightmare. Her chest felt heavy as she breathed in long deep breaths. Tears that had formed in the middle of her dream, rolled down the sides of her face as she stared at the ceiling.

Turning to her side, she found Shikamaru sound asleep next to her. She was thankful that she didn’t wake him up again for another night in a row because this time, she was deeply affected by it. 

She turned to her other side, facing away from the lazy genius and silently cried. Everything she did hit her hard. She ached knowing how shattered Shikamaru would be if he found out, but how she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she never let him know.

He would probably leave her, she figured. He wouldn’t want to see her again. She would have to move out. Maybe it was about time she left the village anyways. Silently, she cried in her corner of the bed, wondering if it was time that she finally let the truth go. She couldn’t deal with another sleepless night like this. She couldn’t deal with another day of hiding it from Shikamaru. 

\---

The next morning, Naome met Kakashi at the training grounds for their training. She sat under the tree with her head buried in her arms as she waited. She didn’t have any sleep the night before so she had practically fallen asleep in that position when Kakashi arrived.

Kakashi strolled in casually, with his novel in his hands. It had been over half an hour since their meeting time, and he had expected to get chewed out by his student anyways, so he figured he would take his time and enjoy his book. It seemed lately that he had more time for that because the girl hadn’t been coming around as often now that Shikamaru was home more.

He had to admit, it hurt him to realize that. He even wondered if his analysis had been wrong and if Naome’s feelings for him were nothing more than a small crush, and that he was a placement for Shikamaru. Regardless though, he figured it would be better this way. Now they were just student and teacher again.

That didn’t say anything about his feelings though. He was still falling for her deeply, though he was scared to because of everything that had happened in his past, which is why when he stood in front of the girl who had barely lifted her head to acknowledge him, he grew worried.

Kakashi had been preparing for a long nagging lecture or at least a scowl from Naome once he had arrived late, but there she was, sitting on the ground with a dead look in her eyes. She didn’t even bother to acknowledge the book that she hated so much which was opened in his hands. 

“Had a long night?” Kakashi tried to tease her. She barely nodded before she stood up and dusted her bottom off. Kakashi watched as she slowly walked past him, reaching for her sword to begin training. In one swift motion, he stuffed his book in his pocket and grabbed her arm as she walked past, stopping her in her tracks.

“What’s wrong?” He dropped his act. He was concerned, very concerned. The girl in front of him was not someone he’d known before. She could barely look him in the eyes. He brought his hand to the side of her face, and his thumb gently rubbed under her swollen eyelid. When Naome didn’t respond, he started getting serious.

“What happened?” His voice was demanding, almost dark, as he contemplated what could have possibly happened for her to be this way. “Naome look at me.”

Naome looked up to meet his eyes, her own orbs already filling with tears as she faced the man in front of her. Thoughts continued running her mind. How was it that all of this was wrong when she loved Kakashi so much?

“Was it Shikamaru?” Kakashi asked. His eyes narrowing at the possibility. He hadn’t seen her like that since the days when her and Shikamaru were arguing non-stop. When Naome avoided eye contact, Kakashi grew more impatient. 

“Was it Shikamaru?!” He growled. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing. He’s been nothing but great to me.” Naome replied with a small voice. Yet her tears continued to fall, making Kakashi all the more anxious. 

“Then what is it?”

Naome dropped her gaze to her feet. “I can’t … Shikamaru … I can’t look at him anymore knowing what I did.” She broke down fully, finally being able to say the words out loud. Kakashi led her to under the tree and sat her sideways on his lap as she clung to his neck and cried into his collarbone. Kakashi used one hand to hold her there while the other rubbed soothing circles on her back. She mumbled a lot of things between her laboured breaths, none of which Kakashi truly caught until one word stuck out to him.

“...whore…I’m such a whore.” Upset by her choice of words, Kakashi pulled away and used a hand to force her to look him in the eye.

“You. Are. Not. A. Whore.” He reprimanded with absolute sternness in his voice. “Don’t degrade yourself like that. Where are you getting those ideas from?”

“I cheated on him!-”

“No you didn’t! Last I checked, you weren’t in an official relationship. Even if you were, the way he was acting like a scumbag doesn’t win him any merit points.” Kakashi replied. His tone of voice lowered as his eyes softened. “Let me ask you something Naome. Do you regret what happened that night?”

Naome wanted to say yes. She really did because it was the right answer. She was supposed to regret her decision to be with Kakashi that one night. She was supposed to regret the fact that she broke every rule in the book to sleep with someone she wasn’t supposed to be with. Yet she didn’t regret it, because everything in that moment, all her feelings, it felt right.

“Because I didn’t regret it.” Both of them were stunned at the words that came out of Kakashi’s mouth. Naome had thought that Kakashi hated what had happened. Kakashi himself, didn’t even know what he was saying because now it felt like he was leading her on. 

“I didn’t either.” Naome whispered as she leaned onto Kakashi for support. 

Kakashi held her for a while despite the fact that he knew if someone showed up, they would be caught in an awkward position. She needed him at that moment.

Eventually, Naome’s tears had dried. Their training session time had long passed but they remained in the same position as before. Naome could feel Kakashi’s eyes on her as he checked if she was alright. She looked up to meet the eyes of her teacher. She had missed being with him and being close to him. A strong sense of relief flushed through her when she realized that this was what she was waiting for, confirmation that the feeling was real and that it was right. 

Kakashi seemed to feel the same way as he reached up to pull his mask down, exposing his bare face to her once again. It was a wonder to him how he still felt drawn to her despite all the reservations that he had before and after that night. He tilted his head and leaned closer, wanting to feel those lips on his once again.

“Kakashi, wait.” Naome’s voice stunned him in his place. Despite her eyes and actions showing that she desired more, she stopped him anyways. “I should probably talk to Shikamaru first before we go any further.”

Clearing his throat, Kakashi straightened up, backing away from kunoichi. “Yeah. You’re right. I don’t want this weighing on your conscience anymore.”

He pulled his mask back up and helped Naome to her feet. Using one hand, he caressed her cheek. Naome blushed and paused, looking down at her feet. Only one dilemma weighed on her mind now that she was clear what she had to do. “But before I do...I need to know. What are we?”

Kakashi froze in his spot. She was right, what were they? They were no longer just student and teacher, and he was pretty certain that what they had and what they did, did not constitute under the idea of “friends.” But he also knew that he wasn’t ready to accept her feelings for him. Call him a coward, but he wasn’t over it all. He wanted to be with her so bad, but every time he would think that he had fallen in love with her, he thought of Rin, and every time he thought of Rin, he thought of the number of people in his life that he lost who were close to him. Not to mention, he considered the fact that if he accepted Naome’s feelings for him, he wouldn’t be able to protect her from the looks and remarks from society, or even both of them potentially losing their jobs as shinobi. 

So the question still stood. What were they?

Noticing his hesitation, Naome spoke up first. “Can I just put it out there? You mean a lot to me.”

“I know.” Kakashi’s voice was broken but he felt it was important to at least validate her feelings.

“As in...more than just friends.” 

Kakashi closed his eyes. He knew he would have to hurt the girl in front of him and it destroyed him to even think about it. “I know...but Naome...we can’t be together.”

“Can’t we just-”

“No.” He drew the line. Even with his eyes closed, he could sense the heartbreak in her eyes. “Naome we can’t.”

“Then what the hell are we? You can’t tell me you aren’t feeling the same thing I am.”

“I’m attracted to you Naome.” Kakashi responded. His hands held hers in response. “You have to believe me, I am so damn attracted to everything about you. But we can’t have our feelings involved. It won’t end well for either one of us.”

“So that’s what it is then.” Naome took a step back, hurt evident in her eyes but Kakashi could tell she was trying to mask it from him. “No feelings involved. Is that what you want it to be then? Call it what it is Kakashi, friends with benefits.”

Kakashi stared at the girl in awe. Friends with benefits? Is that what it was? Is that what he wanted? Then he figured, maybe if he played along well enough, that she would give up. He could be with her, pretend to be void of romantic feelings for her, and then maybe then, she would let go once she saw he wasn’t giving in. He almost chuckled at how selfish he was for even conjuring those thoughts. He just wanted to string her along and be with her, without ever telling her how he felt. 

“I...I would be okay with it.” Naome said softly after Kakashi didn’t respond. Kakashi watched her, his heart aching because he knew that really, she wasn’t okay with it. She deserved so much more. She deserved to be loved. “Of course, I would have to tell Shikamaru…”

“Yeah you should tell him everything.” Kakashi agreed. He was being so damn selfish for not correcting her otherwise, that he was sure he would die a long and painful death and then be sent to hell.

“Okay.” Naome took a deep breath and stepped back. She let go of Kakashi’s hands and turned to leave. Unbeknownst to her, Kakashi was watching very intently on her every move, and he knew right away that she was bawling on her way out of the training grounds. All he had to do was tell her how he felt, and yet, he was a coward, and broke her heart again.

\---

When Naome got home, she laid on her usual spot on the roof top as she waited for Shikamaru to get home. With each second that was passing, she grew more and more anxious. She tried to come up with every scenario in her head, many of which resulted in Shikamaru leaving her. For a moment she wondered, if Shikamaru gave her an ultimatum and forced her to choose one or the other, who would she choose? She no longer felt that she was emotionally or physically capable of being away from either one of the two.

“Waiting for me?” Shikamaru was standing on the ground, with his hands stuck in his pocket as per usual. He looked up at the kunoichi with a half smirk on his face. When he caught Naome’s attention, he leaped into the air and joined her on the rooftop. “Miss me?”

“Oh yeah, it’s only been a few hours but I missed you.” Naome replied with a sarcastic roll of the eyes. Shikamaru chuckled and turned to face her, propping his head on his elbow.

“You will miss me. I’m heading to Sunagakure tomorrow for a few days.” He said. 

Naome frowned, “oh....You’re leaving again? Is it something important?” 

Shikamaru sighed. “Nothing hugely important. Gaara, the Kazekage, just wanted me to fill him in on what I knew about the Akatsuki. They too are investigating them. Anyways, I should be back in only a week this time including the travel time.”

“Oh that’s good.” 

Shikamaru grew worried at the lack of words coming from the girl. She had looked a bit distant since the morning. “Were you waiting to tell me something?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Naome’s voice was almost a whisper as she took Shikamaru’s free hand in her own. “I...I don’t know how to say it…”

“Take your time.”

“I…” She bit her lip nervously. “The other night...when I ran away after our argument...That night, Kakashi-sensei and I…we slept together.”

Shikamaru closed his eyes. His breath grew shaky, but he knew better than to show her otherwise. He knew it would be coming sooner or later, but it hurt him more than he expected to hear it. Shikamaru had loved her endlessly, but it was his fault anyways that she ran away that night. He beat himself up for it every time he saw Kakashi around town. 

He caressed Naome’s hand as he tried to come up with something to say. Something that would not cause her to worry, because after all, he already knew what had happened and never blamed her for it.

“Oh...I guess I kind of figured.” Shikamaru said, trying to make it so that his voice wasn’t shaking.

“I’m sorry.” Naome dropped her head. “I couldn’t sleep every night after that. You asked me what was wrong. I just couldn’t get it off my mind. I understand if you don’t want me around anymore.”

The words shocked Shikamaru. If he didn’t want her around anymore? Yet the entire time, he thought if the truth ever came out, she wouldn’t want him anymore. “Aren’t you and Kakashi…”

Naome shook her head. Shikamaru didn’t miss the broken look on her face as she did so. “No. He doesn’t have any feelings for me.”

“Oh…” Hearing the news from Naome’s mouth both sent a sense of relief down his spine, and angered him beyond belief. He wouldn’t mind if Naome had left him for Kakashi, because then at least he knew she would be happy, but now he wondered if the silver-haired ninja was simply playing with her feelings and using her body.

“So then you guys are…”

“Friends with benefits would best describe it.” Naome still shivered at the term. Never had she thought she would be the one to be in one of those relationships. She looked up at Shikamaru, “but only if you’re okay with it.”

If he was okay with it? Hell no, he wasn’t okay with it! But what could he say? To be honest, that term seemed to be the most accurate one for them as well. Afterall, they were never official, and he regretted it every moment since he realized that mistake. His heart ached. There was nothing he could say or do. What was he supposed to tell her, no? _Damn it_ , he cursed in his mind, _I knew I shouldn’t have gotten involved with women._

Instead, he held onto what little hope he had left for the two of them, and pushed down his feeling of wanting to simultaneously cry, yell in frustration, and throw up. 

“Yeah...I guess that’s fine.” He reached over and caressed her face, his heart breaking in the process. “I don’t want you to lose sleep over it anymore. I don’t blame you for what happened. We never put a title on our relationship. I just want you to figure out what’s best for you.”

He paused, taking in another trembling breath before he continued. “Just know that there’s no way in hell I would ever leave you or push you aside unless you tell me to.” His heart was her’s now, and it had been for a while.

“I would never.” Naome insisted but Shikamaru knew better. He saw the way she looked at Kakashi and he knew. Yet he forced a smile on his face, and pulled her close.

“Okay.” 

\---

The next morning, Naome got up early to walk Shikamaru to the front gate. They walked in a comfortable silence with Naome chuckling whenever Shikamaru would let out a loud and drawn out yawn. 

“I hate morning missions.” Shikamaru murmured as he hunched over and placed his hands in his pockets. 

Naome giggled and hooked an arm into one of his. “When do you ever like any mission? You always complain that it’s such a drag.”

Shikamaru sighed, a grin forming on his face. “That’s true. It just sucks when it’s extra dark outside.” He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Wanna come with me?”

Naome cringed at the thought of the desert. Of all the villages she traveled to back then, she hated that one the most because it was way too hot, dry, and dusty. “No thanks. Not a huge fan of that village.”

“You’re right. Why does it have to be me? What a drag.”

“Because you’re you. You’re smart, you have potential, and I think in the future, you know where you stand on the advisory committee. Besides, who’s going to keep Naruto in check when he becomes hokage?” She cuddled closer to his arm. “Your parents are really proud of you, you know?”

He smiled, thinking about the future. He knew Naome was right. The day would come when Naruto would need him. He knew he was on the right track for the future. He just hoped that she would be there too. They had reached the gate by then and Shikamaru turned to face her.

“What about you? Are you proud of me?” He said in a half joking manner. 

Naome wrapped her arms around his waist as she looked into his eyes. She relished in the familiar feeling of his warmth, the feeling of home. “Yeah I’m super proud of you.”

They leaned in, their lips meeting. Both of them feeling a familiar sense of love and passion returning to them. The rough patch was over. They were in the clear now. It was a feeling that Naome didn’t realize she missed so much until now. Though less jarring now, she still felt the butterfly feeling in her stomach as she kissed him. 

Eventually, Shikamaru broke the kiss, his palm still lingering at the back of her neck. He gave her one last kiss on the forehead before he backed away, leaving the kunoichi shivering from the sudden loss of heat around her.

“I gotta get going now.” He said, sticking his hands back in his pockets again.

“I’ll see you in a week.” Naome smiled. “I’ll be waiting right here when you come back.”

“Looking forward to it.” He replied, already missing the sensation of home. He turned and walked towards the dark trees, with the sunlight barely breaking out in front of him. Naome watched until he faded into the distance.

Shikamaru barely broke inside the dense treeline when he felt a familiar presence in front of him. “What a surprise. You’re here to see me off?”

Kakashi stepped out from the shadows. Shikamaru noticed, even in the dim light, the exhaustion and restless nights that etched itself on the older man’s face. Still, the silver-haired ninja carried a sense of mysteriousness, power, and confidence to him. “I just wanted to speak to you quickly before you left.”

“What a coincidence,” Shikamaru said, a smirk playing on his face. “I wanted to speak to you too.”

Kakashi didn’t beat around the bush. “I take it that Naome talked to you about what happened between us.”

“She did.”

“Well...I just thought….is there anything you wanted to say?” Kakashi asked.

Shikamaru looked up into the eyes of the shinobi in front of him. “What can I say?”

Kakashi dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Shikamaru sighed, “I don’t care what you two do. That’s between you and her. Just promise me one thing: don’t hurt her.”

Kakashi let out a deep breath. He knew he couldn’t promise Shikamaru that. He knew the whole premise of friends with benefits was because he couldn’t return the same love and affection that Naome deserved so much. He knew that bringing her into this meant that he was allowing her to become more invested and more hopeful, yet she was going to be broken at the end. It was never his intention though. He truly wanted to be with her, just not with all the societal pressures and his demons lurking from the past.

Shikamaru took his silence as his answer. He saw the pain that Kakashi held behind his expression and his actions. He figured the jonin must have been figuring things out on his own as well so he didn’t penalize him for it. The whole situation was rough for all three of him. Maybe it was a good time for him to get away for a bit.

Shikamaru walked on, past his sensei, as he continued on the path towards Sunagakure. He stopped briefly when Kakashi was just far enough behind him, that he couldn’t see his pained expression anymore, but was still in earshot. 

“Tell me Kakashi-sensei. Do you have feelings for her?” He let his words echo in the trees and hang in the air. He wasn’t surprised that Kakashi didn’t answer him.

“Well I’m just going to let you know...Regardless of your answer, I’m still going to fight for her either way.” He paused, taking in a shaky breath as he closed his eyes. 

“But I’d figured if you did have feelings for her….I’d probably lose.”

With that, he disappeared into the trees, leaving a stunned Kakashi drowning in his thoughts.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Explicit scene in this chapter.

It was a few days later that everything began feeling like normal again. Shikamaru was still out of town, on his mission, while Kakashi and Naome completed their morning training and went out for lunch later. After some long and hard training, the two hit up their regular lunch spot and sat at their usual table. Of course, that also meant their usual waitress came to serve them.

“Welcome back~” The brunette server crooned as she leaned closer to Kakashi again. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever~”

Naome rolled her eyes. It must have only been a week at the most since she last came to eat with Kakashi. She watched Kakashi’s reaction intensely, waiting to see what he would do. Noticing the look Naome sent his way, Kakashi smiled sheepishly at the waitress and leaned away.

“Good afternoon.” He replied curtly.

Still the waitress only kept her eyes on him as she spoke. “What can I get for you today, handsome?”

Naome cleared her throat. “One katsudon, one gyudon. Thank you.” She spat the words bitterly and glared at the waitress who had blatantly ignored her presence. Taken aback, the brunette turned around and quickly scurried away with their orders.

Feeling eyes on her, Naome turned to the copycat ninja who wore a smirk so big that she could see it behind his mask. “What?”

He chuckled and leaned in, resting an elbow on the table, and his head in his palm. “Nothing. I just thought you look kinda hot when you’re jealous.”

Naome froze for a moment, wondering if she should take it as a tease or compliment. She narrowed her eyes at the masked man and smacked him gently on the head, her face turning bright red as she spoke. “Shut up, you perverted old man.”

Despite the insult, Kakashi held his smile, enjoying how she was flustered because of his words. His chest warmed in a building adoration for the girl in front of him.

When the food arrived, Kakashi continued smiling, not even making a move to remove his mask so that he could eat. Naome glanced up from her bowl of food. She squirmed a bit under his gaze. “Can I help you?”

“Oh I was just thinking.” Kakashi responded. 

“Thinking about what?”

His playful smile disappeared for a second as he took his head off his palm and stood up a bit, leaning across the table. He motioned for the kunoichi to lean in so that he could whisper into her ear. His fingers brushed a strand of her hair back, causing her to shiver at the close proximity. 

“Thinking about how to take you when we go back to my place.”

He pulled back with a satisfied grin on his face as he watched the girl fumble for words. Her blush crept across the entirety of her face to her ears, and she shifted awkwardly in her seat. Kakashi burst out laughing at the state that he left her in before pulling his mask down and turning to the food in front of him.

“Are you not going to eat that?” He asked in a teasing tone as he watched her shift awkwardly in her seat. He winked at her. “You’re going to need some energy for later.”

Groaning at the bad joke, Naome turned her attention back to her food, trying to ignore the way Kakashi was making fun of her. She avoided eye contact with him for the remainder of the meal, but unfortunately, she was still able to picture the smug grin on her face. Even though she knew he was joking with her, she couldn’t help but feel butterflies in her stomach from the words that he spoke.

“Stupid perverted old man.”

\---

After lunch, the two went back to Kakashi’s apartment to spend the afternoon. Kakashi changed into some comfortable clothes and took his spot on the couch with his novel in his hands. Naome too, rummaged through Kakashi’s large t-shirts and threw one on over her leggings so that she could be comfy for the next few hours. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun and made her way to the kitchen.

Noticing her student hadn’t joined him yet, Kakashi turned around to look for her. When he found her in the kitchen, humming to herself in his clothes, a warm smile appeared on his face. She looked so comfortable in his apartment as she waltzed around and made some tea for them. Again, he wondered if he was making the right choice rejecting her emotionally when all of this felt like home. Pushing the thought aside, he pulled his mask off, threw his headband aside, and joined her in the kitchen.

The water had boiled and the Naome had just finished filling in the teapot when Kakashi came up from behind her. He placed his hands on the counter on either side of the kunoichi and leaned forward. Naome shivered as she felt his body just barely pressing against her back. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” She teased, although she knew exactly what was happening. Still, his close proximity made her body quiver. 

“Nothing. Just seeing what you’re doing.” He paused, giving her a quick kiss on the neck that caused her to shudder in response. “I love it when you wear my shirts.”

She chuckled. She had figured as much simply by the way Kakashi had blown through all his barriers the first (and only time) they spent the night together. It’s not that she purposely wore the shirt today to turn him on (though it was an added bonus), it was a matter of her desperately wanting to get out of dirty training clothes and relax in his apartment.

“Maybe I should bring a few of these to wear at home too.” Naome said. She leaned her head to the side as Kakashi continued to traverse down her neck and onto her bare shoulder with his lips.

“No. Only I get to see this.” He gave a particularly hard kiss and a bite on her shoulder, causing her to whimper in pain and pleasure. She could tell from the way he sucked on the spot that it would leave a mark for a few days. Dread filled her system until she realized Shikamaru would not be in town for a couple more days. 

She didn’t know Kakashi had been a possessive type, despite the title of “friends with benefits.” It only made her long to see his jealous face a little more. She quickly cleared the teapot out of the way before she spun around and propped herself up so she could sit on the counter. Instinctively, Kakashi closed the distance so that he was now in between her legs. 

She threaded her fingers through his long silver hair that had fallen since removing the headband. She decided she quite liked it this way. It made him seem less uptight and more approachable. She scanned the beautiful face that she had grown to love so much before leaning in and taking his bottom lip between hers.

She kissed him vigorously for a while, sucking on it in such a way she hoped it would leave it nice and swollen. Just when she was running out of air, she gave it a quick bite which caused Kakashi to jump a bit in shock. 

“I guess it’s a fair trade.” She caressed his face, her fingers lingering on his scar for a bit before trailing down to the side of his face and his lips. “Because only I get to see this.”

Kakashi’s heart melted at her words. He loved the fact that what she said was true, and that it was only her that he was vulnerable to.

Naome’s hand continued moving down until she reached his chest. Grabbing a fist full of his shirt, she pulled him in towards her so that they were nose to nose again. “But that also means I’ll just have to settle with Shikamaru’s shirts then when he comes home.”

Kakashi’s fingers gripped the counter harder than he would have liked. His scowl, fully visible now that he was without a mask, sent a smirk to Naome’s face. She was right, he was a jealous and possessive man. The way she looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes made him more sexually frustrated. 

He grabbed her hips and lifted her up. He backed away from the counter so that she could wrap her legs around his waist as he devoured her lips again. Her hands found their way into his hair again and she tugged softly as they kissed, causing Kakashi to groan in his fight for dominance. 

He walked to the couch and sat down so that she was now resting on her knees on top of him. His member grew in his pants as she began to grind along the shaft. His hands rested on the side of her thighs, sliding up every so often to grip at her plush behind before coming back down again.

Her actions drove him insane and he had wondered for the briefest moment if maybe this was something she was used to because she had experienced it with someone else, namely Shikamaru. The jealousy pit in his stomach grew. How he had wished to find her first.

Noticing Kakashi’s hesitation and distracted motions, Naome broke the kiss and stared down at the man under her. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” He lied.

The frown on her face told him she knew he was lying. “Is this not doing it for you?”

“No! Oh God no!” Kakashi replied in shock. “Naome, look at me! I’m so hard it’s getting painful under there. How can you even think that?”

Naome grinned at his confession, and her smile widened even more when she saw Kakashi turning bright red from the words that he said. “Painfully hard huh?”

She climbed off his lap which caused Kakashi to shake from the lack of contact. He watched with wide eyes as she rid herself of his t-shirt and her leggings, leaving her in her bra and thong. Looking him in the eyes, she knelt down on the floor in front of him. She quickly made do of his sweatpants and his boxers, and smiled in victory as his cock sprang to life in front of her. 

“Huh, what do you know. I guess you are turned on.” She teased as she poked at the pre-cum that was dripping from the tip. With her thumb, she started smearing it over the tip. “Geez Kakashi, if I didn’t know any better I would say you are just as wet as me.”

Kakashi groaned. His imagination went wild as he thought about how wet her pussy was and how it would feel to have her around him again. The pictures in his mind were cut off when a sudden warmth surrounded him. She had taken him into her mouth, and he couldn’t help but throw his head back and press his hips forward. He moaned even louder when he felt her gag a bit, taking in his entire cock, enough so, that the tip was pressed against the back of her throat.

Naome held on, despite the small beads of tears that were forming in the corner of her eyes. Never in a million years would she have thought she would have been literally choking on her sensei’s cock. The idea of it caused her to tremble and her insides grew more wet. At that moment, seeing the look on Kakashi’s pleasure filled face, she just wanted to serve him.

“Fuck,” Kakashi whispered as she began to bob her head. From tip to base, her lips suctioned on and he could feel her gagging each time he filled her to the hilt. His fingers laced into her hair as an appreciative and encouraging gesture. Her tongue would twirl around his tip, and flick it occasionally, and to top it all of, she was massaging his balls with her free hand. “Oh fuck, you’re so good to me.”

Kakashi’s pleasure didn’t stop her from having her own fun. She secretly liked the way he was losing his self-control because of her actions. She also enjoyed the fact that he would take peeks with his lust filled eyes of her body, from the way her breasts looked almost pressed against his cock, to the way she was submissively kneeling in front of him. 

Feeling that he wouldn’t be able to hold it for much longer, he stopped her with a light tug of her hair and a caress to the face. Naome stared up at him with a smirk on her face. He almost lost it as he noticed the mix of his precum and her saliva painted messily on her lips and chin.

“Get on the couch, I wanna fuck you.” Kakashi said. The bluntness of his words shocked himself, but actually made Naome more desperate to be filled again. Eagerly, Naome laid at the end of the couch so that her upper back was supported by the arm rest. 

Kakashi quickly got on top of her, ridding them both of the remainder of their clothing before placing the tip of his shaft against her quivering, wet opening. Leaning down, he gave her a brief kiss before he pushed the entire length in, groaning from the warmth that surrounded him. Naome’s back arched as she felt herself being stretched again. He hit her spot right on the first try, causing her to moan loudly and to grip onto Kakashi’s shoulder blades. 

She continued holding on as Kakashi fucked her into oblivion. His arms held her from under the knees, almost bending her in half, and giving him easy access to do powerful and quick thrusts. She clung onto his back, whimpering into his shoulder and collarbone as he continued to enter her over and over again. 

Kakashi leaned over another time, this time, latching his lips to the base of her neck where she was sensitive. He could feel her shaking under him and tightening around his cock as he made quick work of it, leaving a dark bruise blossoming on her skin. The way she was tightening around him and gripping desperately to his back, made him crave her more.

“Fuck baby, that feels so good.” 

He felt her clinging to him even more than before. “Kakashi-sensei, I-I can’t. Sensei, I-”

“Cum for me baby.” He said as he picked up his pace, continuing to nail her in the spot that drove her crazy. “Cum. Cum all over me.”

“Kakashi!” She cried one last time before she unravelled. Her body shook a bit as she convulsed from her orgasm. 

Hearing his name escape her body caused him to release as well. He pulled out of her just in time, hissing as the cold air hit his heated length before he came all over her torso. 

After his high disappeared, he fell back onto the other side of the couch from exhaustion. His eyes began closing as he felt sleep overcoming him. Naome chuckled as she took a look at her sensei. She got up and grabbed her clothes. As she made her way to the bath, she leaned down and pecked the copycat ninja on the lips, “Is that what you were imagining earlier at lunch?”

She couldn’t help but laugh when he let out a quiet “mhmm” before dozing off completely. She made her way to the bathroom and washed up. 

By the time she got out of the washroom, Kakashi had woken from his momentary haze. A slight frown of disappointment appeared when he noticed Naome was back in her training attire, meaning she was just about ready to go home.

“Leaving so soon?” He asked. Usually, it would be around dinner time that she left.

She grinned and joined him on the couch. “I just thought I would get changed while it was convenient anyways. Besides, I didn’t want you to jump on me again if I put your shirt back on. Why? Did you want me to stay?”

Kakashi sighed, “no, you probably shouldn’t.” He paused for a bit before deciding how to continue the conversation. “We should probably set some boundaries…”

“Boundaries?” Naome questioned with a raised eyebrow. “Like rules?”

“Yeah. So we can avoid misunderstandings in the future.”

Kakashi could see a scowl beginning to form on the kunoichi’s face and he knew it would be a hard conversation for both of them. 

“Like what?” 

He decided to rip the bandaid off rather than prolonging it any longer. “Like for one, no staying overnight.”

“Okay.” She figured that was a given because usually, the Nara family expected her to be home. Also, Shikamaru would be home many days so she didn’t want to disrespect him.

“The next one is obvious, no one can know. Other than Shikamaru of course.” Kakashi said in a matter-of-factly tone. 

Naome nodde. “Of course. I wouldn’t want either one of us to get in trouble because of this.”

“Right,” though Kakashi was more so worried about her than himself. He couldn’t bear to think of what society would say if they found out about them. “Well… the next one would be no feelings attached.”

The frown etched on Naome’s face grew deeper even though she tried to hide it. Kakashi knew exactly what was going on when he saw it and he wanted so badly to apologize and hold her in his arms, but he knew he had to do this so that she could give up on him.

Naome only responded with a quiet nod. She was heartbroken because that meant Kakashi didn’t have the same feelings in return. She was frustrated because regardless how much he pushed her away, her stupid self still wanted to be with him. She was positive that Kakashi knew about her feelings towards him. Otherwise why would she give herself to him in more ways than one? Why would she jeopardize her relationship with Shikamaru to be with him? Yet in the end, he wanted her to sleep with him with no feelings involved? She almost scoffed, they both knew that would be impossible, for her at least.

“And lastly...I think we should consider this an open friends with benefits relationship.” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Kakashi could sense the frustration growing in her voice.

He reached out for her hand and held it in his. “It means that you can see other people and I can see other people. It’s mainly for you and Shikamaru.”

That’s not the way that Naome took it. She knew it as a way for him to be able to see other people without being with her. What little hope she had left of Kakashi having feelings for her was now crushed. He wanted to be free. He wanted to be able to see other people too. She wondered if maybe, it was his hint for her to just let go. Needless to say, she was utterly distraught at his words. 

He continued to trace his thumb reassuringly at the top of her hand. “It’s mainly for you and Shikamaru,” he repeated. “I know how much he means to you, and I just want you to know that it’s okay.”

Nodding, Naome forced a smile on her face, “yeah, I understand. I wouldn’t want to hold you back from seeing other people too.” She lied.

Standing up, she excused herself from his apartment. “I think I’ll go home early and see if Mrs. Nara needs anything at home.”

He didn’t argue. He knew he had hurt her, and decided it would be best to let her go for today so she could clear her mind. It wasn’t just her, he needed to recover from his own emotional blow as well. He followed her to the door and placed a loving and reassuring hand on her lower back. “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow!” He saw straight through her cheerful persona as she walked out of his apartment and the door clicked closed between them. 

Letting out a stressed sigh, he went to his bed and laid down. He was so broken inside after the conversation. What was the point in telling her that it was an open relationship when he, himself wouldn’t be seeing anyone anyways? He knew with 100% certainty that no one else out there interested him enough to even consider a relationship of any sort. All he wanted was her. But it wasn’t that simple.

He knew he had hurt her and seeing her like that hurt him too. He just wished there was an easier way of being with her while not giving her false hope, because at the moment, he knew his heart wasn’t fully hers. In the end, he couldn’t bring it upon himself to end the relationship with her, so he only hoped she would do it instead, because he knew, a part of him was still in love with Rin.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Explicit content

Naome leaned onto Shikamaru as they stood by the entrance of the village. A loud, open yawn escaped her as she tried to rub the haziness from her eyes. The light had barely begun to break through the clouds, and there she was, all ready to head out on yet another mission. Sakura and Naruto stood a little distance away, allowing the two lovebirds to cuddle in peace.

Shikamaru rubbed her arm soothingly, but contradicted himself when he let out a long drawn out yawn as well. “What a drag.”

“Well I told you you didn’t have to come.” Naome replied.

“No, it’s not that. I'm just wondering what the hell is taking Kakashi-sensei so long.”

Naome chuckled. “Kakashi’s late to everything. I kinda expected this would happen already.”

“Yeah, well next time we should just save ourselves another half hour of sleep and show up late as well.” Naome couldn’t help but grin at the lazy ninja’s words. She was glad his tone of voice was rather conversational. About three months have passed since their relationships were more defined, and it seemed that Shikamaru no longer held hostile feelings toward her teacher. A part of her thought that maybe things could work out this way, though she knew she would have to choose one of them sooner or later.

“Good morning kids! Everyone is here so early today!” Kakashi cheered as he strolled through the village gate. 

“Yeah right Kakashi-sensei! We agreed to meet here half an hour ago!” Naruto shouted back at him. “You never change!”

“Yeah! How can you be so casual about this all when we have such an important mission today?” Sakura chirped in, pointing an accusatory finger at the jonin. Kakashi returned a sheepish grin to his two original students before turning to the two quieter ones standing on the side.

“Good morning Naome, Shikamaru.”

“Good morning.” Shikamaru replied with a yawn. “I guess I better get going now.” He turned to give Naome a tight hug, which she returned. They shared a deep kiss before breaking apart. 

“Stay safe and come back to me.” He whispered as he caressed her face. Naome’s eyes saddened as he gave him one last hug before parting. 

“I will.”

Kakashi watched the two of them and found that he was hurting more and more with each loving gesture that they shared. Oh how badly he wanted to show the same level of affection to her as well, regardless of who was present. He also knew that despite the feelings Naome had for him, there was something with the way that Naome looked at Shikamaru, that he would never have for himself.

As Shikamaru bid his goodbyes to his peers and began walking into the village, he paused in front of the taller man. “Take care of her.”

Kakashi stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Of course I will.”

Shikamaru stuck his hands in his pocket and let out a small breath. He began walking away. “I know you will.” He knew better than Naome did, the way that Kakashi felt for her. Thus, despite the fact that Kakashi was technically his rival, he knew that she was in good hands.

With that, the team set off on their mission. The primary mission was to find Sasuke, but in order to do that, the team decided it would be best to track down Itachi, knowing that the younger had a thirst for revenge. The nature of the mission was why Shikamaru had been particularly hell bent on sending her off today. He knew the mission would be risky, deadly even, and he needed to have Kakashi’s word before they left.

The mission could take days, if not weeks. They were only working off some intel that Jiraiya’s sources provided while Kakashi’s ninja hounds did some of the work.

As they dashed off in the general area of Itachi’s last sighting, Naome turned to Kakashi who was at the front to see the serious look in his eyes. His jaw was clenched to the point where she was sure he would have a tension headache in the next few hours. 

“Kakashi-sensei seems a little bit...tense today.” Naome said quietly to Sakura who was running alongside her.

“That’s because he’s been attacked by Itachi Uchiha before.” Sakura’s frown etched onto her forehead as well as she thought about the past. “It was probably about a year before you arrived in the village. Itachi showed up to look for Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei, Asuma-sensei, and Kurenai-sensei were fighting him and his partner Kisame. Itachi had him in a really powerful genjutsu, and he was in a coma for a while until Lady Tsunade came to save him.”

“It was that bad?”

“Yeah. I can’t even begin to imagine what he saw and what he was feeling.” Sakura said. “Itachi is one hell of a criminal. His ninjutsu is just as strong as his genjutsu. Just...remember not to look at his eyes when you see him.”

“Okay.” Naome had shivers thinking about what kind of ninja that could be so strong that they could immobilize even Kakashi to the point where he was in a coma. Worry grew in the pit of her stomach because she knew her level of genjutsu was much more underdeveloped compared to her taijutsu and ninjutsu. If she were to be caught in one, she knew she would be in huge trouble. She tried not to show it though as she continued small talk with her teammates for the rest of the day.

\---

When the sun was beginning to set, the four of them finally decided to call it a day. The ninja hounds had reported back no signs of the rogue ninja within the 5 kilometer radius as they moved throughout the entire day. Their only choice was to rest and continue heading to the spot where their sources had described the next day.

The team set up a campfire and caught some fish at a nearby creek for dinner. Afterwards, Naome and Kakashi took first watch as per usual. The two sat a little ways off from the campsite so that their conversations could not be heard, but they could still keep an eye out for their sleeping teammates.

The two of them sat at the base of a tree in the shadows, leaning onto the trunk for support. Naome laid her head on Kakashi’s shoulder as the older male wrapped an arm around her body. It wasn’t necessarily a romantic gesture, at least Kakashi was so inclined to think. It was more so a comforting position that the two of them had gotten used to, especially during the past few months where they would spend missions staying up together.

Occasionally, Naome would doze off, leaving the silver-haired ninja an opportunity to admire everything about her without her knowing. At times, the opposite would happen and Kakashi would doze off. He found that despite the uncomfortable ground beneath, he always found sleep better with her around.

Tonight Kakashi was rubbing Naome’s upper arm absentmindedly when she spoke up. “You seem awfully tense today.”

He looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? How so?”

She took Kakashi’s hand and fiddled with his fingers as she spoke. “Well for one, you didn’t attempt to pull out that dreaded book of yours as soon as we sat down here.”

He chuckled, looking down at his fingers which were wrestling with hers. “Yeah well we’re a bit far from the light today for me to be able to read it.”

“Right,” she mumbled disbelievingly. “Well the other thing is you barely spoke at all the whole trip.”

A sad smile crept on his face as he decided to come clean. “You’re right...I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”

“Sakura told me earlier about what happened to you before.” She backed up a bit and turned her body so that she could make eye contact with the man in front of her. “Are you scared?”

Kakashi brought his hand up to caress the side of Naome’s face. Only scared of losing you. “Yeah.”

Naome scanned the shinobi’s eyes, unable to read the emotion behind it. In a way, he looked sad, rather than afraid. It made her want to hold him tightly and tell him that everything was going to be okay. “Is there any way I can help?”

He shook his head. “Just promise me. You won’t go against my orders this mission. If I signal you to run, you will not think twice and retreat immediately.”

Already, Kakashi could tell she was going to protest by the furrowing of her eyebrows and the frustrated gleam in her eyes. “Please,” he begged, “I need you to promise me. Don’t stop for your teammates, don’t stop for me, don’t stop for anyone.”

“Is it really that bad?” She asked, her voice softening.

“Yeah.” He guided Naome to sit on his lap while he looked deep into her eyes. “I don’t know how I would live with myself if something were to happen to you.”

It was in moments like these that made Naome all the more confused. She skimmed Kakashi’s eyes, hoping for some sort of resolution to his feelings for her. A part of her was hurting inside. How could it be that he said all those things to her, and look as if he genuinely meant it, when almost every day, he was simultaneously pushing her away?

Kakashi’s eyes were saddened as he looked at the girl in front of him. Scenes of losing Rin in the past continued playing in his mind. He couldn’t bear to lose someone so precious to him again. He would rather die himself. He placed the palm of his hand on her cheek, and his heart filled with warmth when she leaned into it, holding his own hand with hers. 

“Promise me.”

Naome nodded slightly. “Okay, I promise.”

“Thank you.” The weight on his chest lifted by the slightest bit as he pulled down his mask. With his eyelids fluttering closed, he leaned in, meeting her lips. Naome leaned in, pulling her upper body closer to her sensei’s. She placed her fingers through his hair and pulled him impossibly closer to her. 

One of his hands remained on her cheeks while the other landed on her hips, rubbing soothing circles on her pelvis. Despite the fact that Kakashi said to not have any feelings involved, Naome could feel the need and desperation in his actions. The way he held her was like the first night, softer and more loving than the last time. She responded to it, opening herself with full vulnerability in front of the man that she loved so much. 

Their heavy breathing and the occasional sound of their lips separating echoed throughout the woods around them, but the two couldn’t care less about it as there probably wasn’t anyone awake that was close enough to hear. 

Feeling the growing sexual tension between them, and the bulge in Kakashi’s pants, Naome got off momentarily to strip herself of her bottoms. Kakashi quickly unzipped his pants in response, lowering it just enough to free his member. He hissed as the cold air hit his heated shaft. Leaning forward, he pulled off his jacket so that he could cover her from behind as she sat back down on his lap. 

Kakashi guided the tip of his cock to her hole as she lowered herself onto him. Both of them threw their heads back at the sensation of being with each other again. Despite still being mostly clothed and out in the woods, everything felt more intimate between them.

Perhaps it was the notion of possible death ahead. Perhaps it was the campfire a little ways off that was creating the mood and highlighting the longing in their expressions. Perhaps it was the idea that Kakashi still had some sort of feelings for her, that made it seem more real. To Kakashi, it was all of those things. 

To him, this moment was more than just another instance of sex together. To him, this moment was more than making each other feel good, and appreciating each other’s presence. To him, this moment confirmed more than anything that he loved her too.

Naome continued to ride Kakashi at a slow, intimate pace. Their lips continued to meet throughout this, both to show their true feelings for each other, and to muffle the light gasps that were coming out of Naome’s mouth at the sensations she was feeling.

Kakashi held in his groans as well as he relaxed into the feeling of having her on top of him, and her warmth surrounding his member. He looked up at her, his eyes softening in affection as he saw the pleasured look on her face, and the overwhelming amount of feelings her eyes portrayed. He brushed her hair behind her ears, loving the way her expressions were intensified from the light of the fire.

“K-Kakashi-sensei…” she called. A familiar tension was building in her as she leaned closer to the older man. She clung onto him desperately as she almost lost it every time she filled herself with him. 

“Sh…” He reminded her, though the sound of his name in the bare woods made his cock twitch. He scolded himself in his head, not believing that he was actually getting off at the idea of being caught. 

She leaned forward, pressing her lips against the bend of his neck and shoulder to hide her cries each time he entered her. Her rhythm started getting shaky from the overwhelming feeling so he grabbed her hips on either side to help her out. He could hear her soft mewls and whimpering next to his ear which sent shivers down his spine. 

“Kakashi…” she whispered over and over again breathlessly. 

“Mmm Naome…” He could feel himself getting harder, a tingling formed in the pit of his stomach. “Come here.”

He brought her head up to face him. The flush on her cheeks, her half lidded eyelids, and the small tears at the corners of her eyes which formed from the pleasure she was feeling, almost made him become undone. There was no doubt about it. He loved her. He loved her so damn much that it hurt. 

Her hands that were now rested on his shoulder, gripped them harder as she began trembling. It was a telltale sign to Kakashi.

“Kakashi…” she whimpered. He pulled her down to meet his lips. 

“Naome...I…” he stuttered against her lips. Naome came, her shaking body falling limp over him. He couldn’t continue his words anymore as a wave of his own pleasure overcame him as he quickly lifted her off of him and came into his jacket. 

After a few moments, he zipped himself up, and watched as Naome stood up with shaky legs and pulled her bottoms on. She walked away briefly and came back with a blanket from her backpack. She hesitated when she returned, but when Kakashi held his arms out to her, she easily found her spot on his lap. She sat on one side of his legs, facing sideways, and extended her legs over his. Kakashi took the blanket from her and wrapped it over the both of them as she leaned her head onto his chest. 

They sat like this in silence for the remainder of the night with Naome falling asleep after some time. Kakashi held her close to him as if she was the most precious thing in the world. He didn’t bother waking the other two shinobi when the time to switch shifts came. Afterall, he only had tonight to appreciate her before things would have to go back to normal tomorrow. 

\---

When the birds started chirping and the sky was beginning to lighten up, Kakashi knew it was time to wake her up. The fire had gone out already, leaving the area with morning bite, but their body heat had kept each other warm. He placed light kisses on her forehead and her cheeks until her eyelids began fluttering open. She barely peaked an eye open before closing it again and snuggling closer to the silver-haired man.

“Good morning.” He said with an amused smile. “It’s time to get up now.”

“No...I don’t want to…” She mumbled. There was a harsh cracking in her voice from her sleepiness. She knew that getting up meant whatever moment they shared for the past few hours would come to an end.

“Well I suspect the others are waking up soon.” Kakashi reminded her. This caused the kunoichi to slowly wake from her sleep. She stretched her arms and back out, and made a move to stand up. Kakashi chuckled at the sight of her wobbly legs as she stood which almost sent her back to the ground. “Remind me to add more leg workouts to your training.”

“Well if you want another round of piggy back squats, that’s fine with me.” She replied with a yawn.

Kakashi stood up as well, grabbing his soiled jacket from the ground and holding the blanket in his other hand. He sent Naome a wink, “Don’t worry, I have other workouts in mind.”

Naome groaned at his lewd joke. “How am I going to keep up with you, you perverted old man?”

Kakashi had a goofy lopsided grin before he leaned down and gave the kunoichi one last kiss on the forehead before pulling his mask up. “I’m just kidding. We really ought to stop doing this anyways.”

“Sure, sure, whatever you say.” Naome didn’t fully believe him. After what they had last night, she doubted it would be the last. 

“One more thing,” he said. Naome watched as he draped the blanket over his shoulder and the jacket at the crook of his arm. He reached into one of his vest pockets and pulled out a dog whistle necklace, stringing it around her neck. Naome picked up the small metal tube between her fingers and inspected it. 

“What is this?”

“Consider it a gift.” 

Naome raised an eyebrow. “Another one? Kakashi, you don’t have to.”

“It’s the last one, I promise.” He plucked the metal tube from her fingers and tucked it into the neckline of her shirt. “It’s directly linked to me and my ninja hounds. If you ever need me, use it, and I’ll be right there.”

“Kakashi-”

“Please,” he begged one last time. “It’s just to ease my mind. You might not even use it. Just consider it an accessory alright?”

A small smile appeared on Naome’s face. It was a small gesture, but the necklace meant a lot to her. A tiny confirmation of Kakashi’s feelings, the feeling of being loved and cherished, and overall, just having a piece of him wherever she went. She conceded. “Alright.”

With that, they walked back to the campfire to wake the other two members and pack up for the next leg of their trip.


	22. Chapter 22

The team travelled for the greater part of the day, using the ninja hounds to guide them. They had made it to the approximate area that the sources had described when suddenly, there was a large bright light that grew as tall as any mountain. The explosion was in the far distance, but it must have spanned at least several kilometers as they were able to see it very clearly even from afar, as well as feeling the aftershock of the quake. 

“You don’t think…” Sakura trailed off.

“Yeah...it could be Sasuke.” Naruto murmured. “Let’s go.”

The team picked up the pace, dashing full speed towards the explosion in front of them. 

“I can smell him now.” Pakkun said. The team arrived at a giant crater about 15 minutes later. There was no one to be found, and the ninja hound gave a frustrated snarl when he gave one last sniff. “The trail ends here.”

“What?!” Naruto exclaimed. “No way!”

“It must be a teleportation jutsu of some kind.” Kakashi observed. “There’s no way his scent would disappear unless he went underground, and it doesn’t look like the case here.”

“Well if it’s teleportation, how far could he have gone?” Naome asked, still taking in the damaged scenery in awe. 

“It depends...if he was fighting, I doubt he could have gone far.” Kakashi said. He gave the kunoichi one last look before he made his decision. “We’re going to split up. Fan out from this area. We’re going to start in opposite directions from the crater, and then go up to five kilometers outward from there. Our communication devices won’t be able to reach, but you can send a ninja hound to communicate. If you don’t find anything, come back within an hour and a half. If you do find someone, don’t engage alone. Send a hound, and everyone will come as backup.”

“I’m going to send out more shadow clones too!” Naruto said as he prepared about 10 of them. 

Kakashi nodded. “Alright. Head out!”

The team split, Kakashi heading to the east, Naome to the south, Naruto to the west, and Sakura to the north. As Naome dashed off, the words Kakashi spoke the night before kept replaying in her mind. His pleads for her to stay safe. His pleads for her to save herself. She touched the necklace through the fabric of her shirt. Just being reminded of that item, made her less anxious as she continued the search.

It had been about half an hour when suddenly, there was a sound in the woods. Alert, Naome stopped on a tree branch and hid behind the trunk. 

“It’s alright.” Bisuke, the ninja hound assigned to her said, “he’s one of ours.”

The large bulldog caught up to the two of them, panting, as if he had been on a full out sprint. “I came to you two first because you’re the closest. It’s Naruto. He’s in trouble.”

Naome’s eyes widened. “What?”

The bulldog began leading the two in the direction from which he came. He began explaining along the way. “Naruto and some of his clones ran into Itachi Uchiha about 20 minutes after we split up. Itachi has him in a genjutsu right now. I couldn’t do anything so I came here.”

“Someone has to notify Sakura and Kakashi-sensei.” Naome replied as she continued running at full speed. 

“Naruto sent a shadow clone to Sakura. It should reach her soon. You’re a bit quicker than her so we’ll probably reach Naruto first. Kakashi went in the opposite direction though. I don’t know if the hound has even reached him yet.” The bull said. 

After a few minutes, they came to a slower pace, paying closer attention to quieting their footsteps. “It’s right up ahead.” 

Drawing her swords, Naome began to step forward. She hid behind the next tree, and then the next. She nearly let out a gasp when she peeked around one of the trees and found Naruto and another figure with the familiar black and red cloak standing in the clearing. Naruto had his head dropped, motionless, and Naome could only guess that he had already been trapped in a genjutsu. 

She reminded herself to avoid making eye contact with the rogue ninja. She must have been ten steps behind already though, because she knew that the longer she was standing there, the more likely he knew of her presence. 

“Come out.” A deep, dark voice penetrated the woods. 

Her mind spun at a million miles per hour. She knew she had been caught. She probably only had mere seconds left to make a decision. Kakashi’s words echoed in her mind to run away. To bring herself to safety because he couldn’t bear to lose her. Her breathing became rapid as she reminded herself over and over to avoid eye contact and look down. 

Setting both blades in one hand, she brought her free hand up to grab the necklace that was tucked against her sternum. She pulled it out quickly and without all her might, she blew into the whistle. The metal tube itself didn’t make a sound, so she had only hoped that somehow it had still reached him. A sudden presence appeared in front of her.

The dark aura sent her mind spinning. The familiar robe seemed much closer and much more intimidating than it had been in the past. She didn’t dare look up to confirm the presence of the sharingan, but she felt it staring her down as she hopped another step back and readied both her swords again.

She charged her swords, focusing on the torso of the person in front of her while also keeping a close eye on his feet to check his movements. 

“Stand down,” the rogue ninja said. “My purpose today is not to hurt you. I simply need to speak with Naruto and I will get going.”

She wanted so badly to send daggers with her eyes to the enemy in front of her, but she remained focused elsewhere. “Like hell I’m going to leave you alone here with Naruto. I know what you Akatsuki are after. I’m not going to let you take him. Release him now!”

A light, amused chuckle came from the shinobi. “I’ll tell you one last time. I mean no harm. I have other plans for today. If you insist on getting in my way, then I have no choice.”

“No harm? As if! You are a defector of Konoha. There’s no way that can come of any good.” She replied.

“And you? You don’t hail from the Hidden Leaf Village either. Do you brand yourself as good?”

Naome stood, still for a moment, frozen from the information leaking from the Uchiha’s mouth. “H-how did you know?”

A dark laugh escaped the criminal, and suddenly a gust of crows appeared and Naome was surrounded by a foggy red mist around her entire vision. The image of Itachi Uchiha suddenly became distorted and she found herself staring into blood red irises. A distinct dark ring etched within the eyes.

“I know because I know everything. I already have you in my genjutsu now, there’s nothing you can hide from me.” The voice echoed in the endless cloudy red void, sending shivers down Naome’s back. She tried to raise her swords to defend herself but she found that she couldn’t move at all. She wondered if this is what Naruto was experiencing now, or what Kakashi had experienced in the past. It was definitely more real and more intense than any genjutsu she had encountered in her own battles. She trembled helplessly under the genjutsu, and she’d only hoped that Kakashi would show up soon to break her out of this mental trap. 

“Thinking about Kakashi Hatake at a time like this?” A teasing chuckle came from the male in front of her. “

“How did you- get out of my mind!” She screamed.

“I’m not reading your mind, I’m reading your memories. I guess I better make this quick because my conversation with Naruto is almost done and your precious Kakashi must be on his way soon.”

“Make it quick...are you going to kill me?”

“No,” he replied. “I don’t have a need to.”

Finally, Naome dared herself to look into the eyes of the Akatsuki member. Something was different about him. His aura, it was filled with hatred, but not so much so as the ones she had faced before. Those two seemed to enjoy killing. Itachi on the other hand, had a sense of sadness and emptiness to his stoic expression.

“Then why have me here?”

“Like I said, I am speaking with Naruto right now. I don’t need you as a distraction.”

“Why are you considered a rogue ninja, if you are not going to kill me?” Confusion hit her like a boulder. Who was Itachi Uchiha? None of this made sense. The biggest, baddest traitor in Konoha history, and nothing to show for it?

“I do not need to kill you today. That’s all I am going to tell you. Besides...I think you could serve a greater importance later on.”

Naome furrowed her eyebrows. “Quit talking nonsense! What does that even mean?”

“You are an orphan too, from the Hidden Rain Village. Just like him.”

“Just like who?!”

He closed his eyes, a pained expression showing on his face. “You will know soon enough. Perhaps you can talk some sense into him. If not...my hope is that Naruto will be strong enough to help.”

“You’re not making any sense Uchiha.”

“You will see soon enough.” He held up a hand sign with one hand. “Unfortunately my time here is up. I have another mission I must attend to. Nice to meet you, Naome.”

“What? How did you know my name?” Nothing shouldn’t have surprised her by now, as the Uchiha seemed to know everything from reading her. The genjutsu began to lift, she could begin to see the trees fading into her vision as crows began scattering away. “Wait! Itachi Uchiha!”

Suddenly, she fell to the ground as if she had been shoved back into reality. Motion of her limbs came back after a few moments, and she could finally hear and feel herself breathing again. She breathed heavily on her hands and knees as she took a look around.

He had released the genjutsu, and there were suddenly no traces of him. Naome scanned all the trees to no avail. In the corner of her eyes, she could see Naruto leaning against a tree too, seemingly out of breath. Just as she was about to call out to him, Sakura and Kakashi arrived along with the entire force of Kakashi’s ninja hounds.

With Sakura tending to Naruto, Kakashi immediately ran to Naome’s side. He supported her so that she was standing upright before scanning her face thoroughly for her mental state.

“You’re here.” Slowly, her world began to focus again, allowing her to think and see clearly. Naome had wondered how long she was stuck in that genjutsu if Kakashi had already arrived from the other direction. 

“Yeah. I came as soon as I heard your whistle.” He thanked the heavens that she was alright, but at the same time, scolded himself for allowing her to separate from him to begin with. Had Itachi been...well normal Itachi, he probably would have been too late. In fact, he wondered why both Naome and Naruto were left virtually unscathed. 

Once Naome became less dizzy, she took a few steps forward, allowing herself to lean some of her weight on Kakashi for support at first. “We need to get going,” she said, “they couldn’t have gotten too far.”

“Isn’t that too risky?” Sakura asked as she walked over with Naruto. 

“No.” Naruto declared with a new sense of determination. “I promised to bring Sasuke back, and we are going to find him no matter what.”

As they went off as a team this time to find Sasuke, Naome looked over at Naruto. She wondered what Itachi had told him in his genjutsu, as it had seemed especially important to Itachi that he was able to converse with Naruto alone. She also made a mental note to herself to talk to Kakashi about the things Itachi told her as well. It almost seemed as if he was giving her a hint to something coming up. Though it was still blasphemous to her as to why he would help them.  
\---

It was a few days later that the team returned to the village. Ultimately, the mission had been a fail. They had been cut off by another Akatsuki member with an orange mask, and had lost track of Sasuke altogether. The only form of semi-achievement they had was learning that Itachi Uchiha had died...at the hands of his own brother.

It was dark when everyone arrived in the back in the hidden leaf village. Kakashi had dismissed the team after they reported back to the hokage’s office. Both Sakura and Naruto excused themselves, having fallen silent after yet another failed attempt to reunite with their long lost team member.

Naome and Kakashi stood outside the hokage’s office, ready to go their separate ways when she remembered the words that Itachi said. 

“Hey Kakashi-sensei?”

“Hm?”

“I forgot to mention it before, but Itachi Uchiha...he told me something when he trapped me in his genjutsu.”

Kakashi was taken aback by the sudden news. “What did he say?”

“He said something about a person also being an orphan. He said they were also from the Hidden Rain Village and that maybe I could convince him otherwise. He also said he hoped that Naruto would be strong enough.” Naome paused as she looked up at her sensei with furrowed eyebrows, “He also said he wouldn’t hurt me...What do you think all of that means?”

Kakashi looked up at the moon. “I’m not too sure. Itachi Uchiha was always a mysterious shinobi, ever since he was young. I was never able to read him, even when he was in the village.” He sighed, “I guess I’ll bring that information to Lady Tsunade tomorrow. Perhaps she will have some insight on what he could have been saying.”

“Alright, I’ll leave that with you then.” She yawned and stretched. Turning in the direction of the Nara residence, she spoke, “I guess that’s goodnight then!” She wanted oh so desperately to get home and take a nice warm shower, but a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Naome…” Pivoting on one foot, she turned around to face the silver-haired ninja who was avoiding eye contact with her. “We...haven’t eaten yet...I know it’s late but...do you want to come over for a bit first?”

A goofy grin appeared on Naome’s face as she eyed the embarrassed shinobi in front of her. Returning to his side, she hooked an arm around his and began dragging him off in the direction of his apartment. 

“Yeah, let’s go.”


	23. Chapter 23

“We should really stop doing this.”

“Oh hush, that’s what you said last time.” 

Kakashi watched from his bed as the kunoichi began dressing herself in her dirtied ninja outfit. Despite being all worn out and dusty from their days of travel, he admired the way her body still looked against the warm glow of the light on his bedside table.

Their little home dinner date turned into another moment of pleasure and ecstasy shared between the two. This time though, it was quicker, because after all, it was late and Naome was not allowed to stay over (though Kakashi heavily debated lifting that rule for tonight).

“Well maybe I’m serious this time.”

Naome rolled her eyes at her sensei as she slipped on her top and readjusted it. She grabbed her green ninja vest and threw her arms in before turning to the man. “Being serious doesn’t suit you, _sensei_. Besides, try telling me that next time you and your pervy thoughts run wild.”

Kakashi scoffed as he stood up as well and solely pulled on a pair of boxers. “Just me? As far as any of our _interactions_ are concerned, I’m sure you’re just as perverted, if not, _more_ perverted than me.”

Naome gathered her belongings and made her way to the front door. “I’m not the one going around reading a porn novel in broad daylight.”

“Touche.” He said with a grin as he leaned against the wall. He watched as the girl pulled the door open and paused briefly. It seemed a bit awkward to say simply goodbye after what they had just done. He felt it would be more complete to at least give her a kiss goodnight, but he reminded himself that this was supposed to be a romance-free affair. 

“Well goodnight then.” Naome’s eyes dropped. Kakashi didn’t miss the slight disappointment in her expression as she spoke. So instead, he spoke his mind.

“Are you still up for training tomorrow?” He almost smacked his own forehead for that response. He had intended to come up with something that made him seem less like a heartless idiot, but alas, he only blurted out such a casual question. Also, they rarely trained the day after missions from the mere exhaustion they’d faced for the past few days. Yet for some reason, he was using it as an excuse to still see her the next day.

“Yeah, I’m down.” A breath of relief escaped him when he saw her mood brighten up a bit again. She stepped out of the doorway and stood on the other side. “Well, goodnight Kakashi!”

“Goodnight.” He waited until she was out of sight before he closed the door.

\---

When Naome had arrived back at the Nara residence, the lights were off and the family had been sleeping already. Due to the fact that they weren’t sure when the mission would be completed, no one really knew she was coming home that night. Trying to stay as quiet as possible she quickly made her way upstairs to her room. She dropped her belongings onto the floor in the corner and grabbed some clean pyjamas from her dresser. Just as she was about to head off to the bathroom, a voice stopped her.

“Welcome home.”

A grin spread on Naome’s face as she spun around to find Shikamaru leaning against the doorframe to her room. His hair was down and it looked like he had probably just gotten up from bed. “I didn’t know you were coming home tonight,” he said. “Did you eat yet?”

“Yeah. I got some dinner with Kakashi-sensei before coming home.” Shikamaru ignored the small pain in his heart from hearing his rival’s name. It was something he knew he would have to slowly get used to.

“Are you going to take a shower now?” He asked, eyeing the fresh clothes in her hands. 

“Yeah.” She nodded.

Shikamaru placed a hand on the back of his head as he looked slightly away from the kunoichi. A blush formed on his face as he continued, “Can I...join you for a bit?”

Naome had half the heart to reject his offer. Afterall, it was late already, and she was tired. She also didn’t feel quite comfortable with Shikamaru seeing her body after she had just been with Kakashi even though she had always strictly monitored Kakashi’s habit of marking her body. 

In the end though, she couldn’t bring herself to say no to the lazy genius. She missed Shikamaru dearly, no just because she had been on a mission, but also because he had been away quite often on missions of his own. They rarely had time anymore for the intimate moments that they used to share.

“I would love it if you joined me.”

The two of them made their way to the bathroom and Shikamaru watched as Naome stripped herself of her shinobi attire. There was some grime and dirt, as expected after returning home from any mission, but what he only just noticed was that she had gotten a bit slimmer. He wondered if she had enough sleep, enough nutrition, or if she had been stressed. Maybe it had already been a while, but he didn’t even know until now.

He saw that her hair had grown longer. She hadn’t cut it in the past couple of months, and it’s not that he had a specific preference, but he kinda liked the longer hair on her, especially when it was out and flowing loosely. He continued watching her as she made her way into the shower and started the steaming water. It wasn’t that he was craving any sexual deeds tonight, as he wasn’t, but it was the first time that he noticed the small simple changes in her, and he found himself falling in love with her even more.

A pang of jealousy hit him though, when he realized that another man was also seeing all of this too, and holding her in ways that only he used to do before. Did he have feelings of inadequacy from time to time? Yes. Afterall, it was Kakashi Hatake that she had begun developing feelings for. An older, more experienced, more skilled, and more renowned shinobi. A genius in his own right. Some nights, he wondered if she had begun to like Kakashi because he wasn’t enough. 

Shikamaru knew he deserved to be loved fully, but he didn’t want it if it wasn’t her. Which is why, despite all of his doubts, he found himself taking off his own t-shirt and boxers, and joining her under the warm water.

She had her back turned to him when he stepped in, rinsing her hair of the suds of shampoo. Once she was done,Shikamaru took some conditioner and began putting it in her hair, gently massaging from roots to tips as he went. He watched as her shoulders relaxed, slumping forward, and her arms dropped to the side. When that was all done, he allowed his hands to roam down her arms, and then wrap around her waist from behind. 

She spun around and stepped closer to him, enveloping him in her own embrace. The warm water continued streaming down their bodies as she leaned her head against his chest. Both of them stood like this for a while, letting the water rinse away the stress and tension that had built up in their bodies and relationship. 

Naome breathed in Shikamaru’s scent, and relished in the feeling of his skin against hers. She knew she made the right choice tonight. She should have been ashamed. She should have felt embarrassed, defiled, and hated under his gaze, but all she felt was warmth and love. Afterall, he was her rock. He was her support, her safety. Shikamaru was home.

Looking up, they met eyes for the briefest period of time before they both leaned in and shared a deep and pure kiss. With no sense of urgency, and no need to turn things sexual, they just kissed because they knew they needed each other.

Shikamaru felt it then: a silent apology, the pain in her heart, and most importantly, that she still wanted him there. He had fallen so deeply in love with the girl in front of him, and this was more than enough to convince him to keep loving her.

Noticing how tired the kunoichi was getting, Shikamaru helped her finish washing up, massaging her sore shoulders and back as he went. He knew she always had troubles sleeping at night which often led to bad back, neck, and shoulder tension. If left for consecutive days, he knew that she would get major tension headaches. Part of him wondered if Kakashi knew these small little things about her.

After they were done showering, he helped her dry her body and hair before helping himself. Dressing her up in clean pyjamas, he carried her off to his bed and gently laid her on her side of the mattress. He went to clean up, throwing her dirty laundry in the bin, before returning. 

Once he slipped under the sheets, Naome turned to him and snuggled closer to his body. “Thanks Shika.”

He gently stroked her hair, giving her light kisses on the top of her head. “For what?”

“For everything.”

He pulled her closer to him. “You’re welcome. Can I ask you for something though?”

She looked up at him, her hooded eyes still showing a hint of curiosity. “Of course, what is it?”

“Tomorrow, do you want to go out with me?”

“Sure where?” She paused, “Oh wait...tomorrow morning I have training with Kakashi-sensei, but I’ll be free at noon.”

“Alright, I’ll pick you up from training then. As for where...it’s a surprise.” 

Naome looked up, a sleepy smile forming on her face. “A surprise? Is the lazy genius actually putting in effort to plan something?”

“You’re right.” Shikamaru replied, faking a yawn. “I am too lazy to plan. Planning is a drag. Next time then.”

She let out a small chuckle and closed her eyes, letting sleep overcome her. “I’m looking forward to it.” 

Shikamaru drifted off to sleep as well with a small goofy smile on his face.

\---

“You know...you kinda seem...a little bit out of it today.” Kakashi said from his spot under the tree as he eyed the kunoichi who was standing on top of the river.

“How so?” She asked as she kept her eyes trained on the ball of air in her hand. She continued pulling in little droplets of water into the orb of wind until there was a small rain storm in the palm of her hand. “I’m doing what you told me to do, aren’t I?”

“Well yes,” Kakashi hesitated, trying to find the right words to describe his observation. “You’re just acting a bit...weird. For example, you haven’t snapped my head off yet for reading my novel…”

The orb dissipated instantly as she turned to glare at the forsaken book in Kakashi’s hand. “Put that away!”

“See what I mean? Not the most observant. And you seem a little less distracted” _by me_ , he meant.

She huffed as she formed another elemental sphere in her hand, starting all over again. “Well, I mean...I guess I need to improve as quickly as possible. The Akatsuki seem to be getting more and more dangerous. Who knows when we’ll be caught in a fight again.”

“Fair enough.” Kakashi conceded. He tucked his book away and approached the river, standing on the slow current next to her. “Anyways, now that you’ve controlled the wind and water together, try focusing on the cold air currents around you. I’m not too sure myself if that’s how...but if you get the right balance, snow or ice should start forming.”

Naome had insisted she wanted to try controlling her elemental powers, especially after having lost control during Asuma’s passing. She didn’t want that to happen again, especially in front of Kakashi or Shikamaru. She could only imagine what damage would have taken place if Kakashi hadn’t stopped her in time. She figured that if she could learn to control the two, she’d might as well try to use it to her advantage instead and create an ice formed jutsu. Though rare, both her Kakashi were determined to make it happen.

She had just succeeded in picking up the colder wind current when suddenly another figure appeared in the clearing.

“Still going at it?” 

Naome jumped at the sound of Shikamaru’s voice. She had been so focused on her ball of energy that she didn’t even notice he had arrived. With a large grin on her face, she turned to show her hard work to the genius ninja. “Look! Shika, I’m starting to get the hang of it!” 

The chunin eyed the tiny blizzard in her palm, and the frosted bits forming on her fingertips. “That’s actually pretty cool!” His eyes lit up a bit despite his usual nonchalant demeanor. “Great job!”

“Yeah! It’s all thanks to Kakashi.” She said, smiling at her sensei.

Kakashi shrugged. “I just teach it theoretically. It’s your hard work, not mine.” He eyed the lazy genius, wondering what brought him to the training area. He checked the time on his watch. It was just a few minutes past noon, and he’d realized that Shikamaru was actually here to pick Naome up from practice which had just ended.

“Anyways,” the older jonin said, “Naome, I guess we’ll call it a day. I’ve got to head to the hokage’s office to speak to her anyways about the information you gave me.”

The air in Naome’s palm evaporated as she looked up at her sensei in realization. “Oh yeah! I forgot about that. I should probably come with you.”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it, it’s my job anyways.” Kakashi sent a smile to Shikamaru. “You two have fun.”

“Well...okay, if you say so.” Naome murmured before she turned to Shikamaru. Grinning, she walked off the water and took his outstretched hand. “Where are we off to?”

Shikamaru gave her a swift peck on the lips, knowing fairly well the older man was still watching. “You’ll know when you get there.”

Kakashi watched as the two exited the training grounds hand in hand. The tightness in his chest grew almost unbearable as he witnessed the affection that Naome still had for Shikamaru. He was also jealous of the fact that the two of them could walk off freely without needing to hide anything from the world. Shikamaru saw him as a rival, but truly, he knew that Shikamaru would be the best option for her. So despite how much it hurt him, and how much it went against his heart and desires, he still pushed her towards him.

\---

It didn’t take a genius to find out where Shikamaru was bringing Naome for their date. He led her up a familiar uphill road, reaching a cement building. Climbing a few flights of stairs, they reached the rooftop that Shikamaru always hung out on since he was a kid. There, on the wooden platform and under the gazebo, was a blanket laid out with some pillows.

Shikamaru with a slight blush on his face, and a hand behind his head motioned towards the setup. “So um, I figured we’d spend the afternoon here.”

With a wide grin on her face, Naome walked up to the blanket and took her shoes off. She set her swords and ninja equipment to the side and stretched out with a long groan. Looking up, she motioned for the lazy genius to join her, which he did. He dropped his backpack next to them and sat next to her on the blanket.

With relaxation washing over her, she looked up at the clouds above them. It seemed like a small gesture, but it was so typical of Shikamaru, and something that she loved to do as well.

Shikamaru cleared his throat, drawing her attention. “I uh...made us some lunch.”

Naome quirked an eyebrow. “Made?” she emphasized. She didn’t know whether to be touched or cautious as the male pulled the food out of his backpack. Shikamaru never helped out to make food at home, which made her wonder how on Earth he learned to make food for today.

Shikamaru pulled out two separate bento boxes and two other containers of side dishes. He watched nervously as Naome took the covers off of each of the containers, revealing the contents inside. Her eyes widened at each one of the wonderfully made dishes.

The bento boxes had some pieces of nigiri sushi, a small fruit salad on the side, some tamago, and some pieces of veggie and shrimp tempura. The other containers included some assorted onigiri with cute faces cut out of colourful pieces of veggies in one, and many of Naome’s favourite coloured dango balls.

“Wow Shikamaru! This looks amazing!” Her eyes lit up at the elaborate picnic prepared by the male ninja. “How did you learn how to make all of this?”

“I had some help from mom this morning,” he replied. A small grin formed on his face after noticing how much Naome liked his creations. “She figured I was making it for you, and wouldn’t stop teasing me the whole time though. It was a little embarrassing.”

Naome chuckled, “Can you imagine if your father was home too? Then you wouldn’t hear the end of it.”

He too, laughed at the thought. “Yeah. They’re a bit obnoxious sometimes with the teasing.”

“Well they did support us even before we were even together.” Naome smiled fondly at the memory. “I’m sure they knew we liked each other before we even knew it ourselves!”

“That’s because they’ve loved you too, from the very beginning.” Shikamaru replied.

“‘Too?’” Naome teased, catching his wording. “Did you just say you love me? From the very beginning?”

Shikamaru cleared his throat again and turned back to the food. He pulled a bento box onto his lap and handed one to Naome. “Anyways, let’s eat.”

Naome felt her heart warm at the shinobi’s confession. Though he had mentioned his feelings before, it was the first time he had said he loved her. Setting the food aside, she leaned over and gave Shikamaru a quick kiss on the lips, making him freeze with food hanging from between his chopsticks. 

“I love you too.” She paused, learning closer to Shikamaru who accepted her with open arms. “I know I’m selfish at times, and I know it’s been hard on you, but you have to believe me: I really do love you.”

He pulled her closer. “I do believe you.”

“Thank you, not just for today, but for everything.” Shikamaru gave her one more loving kiss, memorizing every little moment they shared together.

“Anything for you.”


	24. Chapter 24

It had been three months since the news of Itachi’s passing hit Konoha. During that time, training had become more intense, and the town was placed on high alert. The hokage made more of an effort to keep the shinobi within the village or working on missions close to the village. 

This meant that Shikamaru was home a lot more often, lessening his constant trips to Sunagakure. He and Naome were able to spend more time together and grow their relationship while he stayed in Konoha and performed his duties from there. Their “I love yous” did not go unfounded. They continued to mature in their relationship, showing love and appreciation in small ways, physically and emotionally.

For example, Naome would pick up Shikamaru every late afternoon when he would be done at the foreign affairs office so that they could walk home together. In the mornings, despite how tired he was, Shikamaru would wake up at the same time as Naome so that they could get ready together and spend some time cuddling in the warmth of the shower. Afterwards, he would walk her either to her mission, or to the training grounds on the way to work.

While things were going well with Shikamaru, Naome realized her relationship with Kakashi had come to a staggering halt. Things seemed to be going around in circles for them. At times, it seemed that their relationship was what the society had expected them to be: teammates, mentor-apprentice, and close friends at most. In other moments, they would share physically intimate moments which Kakashi would sometimes be emotionally available, and sometimes not.

As time went on, Naome realized that there were more and more things that she did not know about Kakashi. She figured memories of his past kept their relationship from progressing, but whenever she asked about his previous experiences, he wouldn’t respond. She realized she knew nothing about his family, his peers, his journey growing up, and even whether or not he had a past love interest. Despite how close they were, Kakashi was also a blank slate to her. 

With Kakashi, Naome’s feelings were always a push and pull. At times, she felt so drained, rejected, and frustrated that she wanted to drop the entire relationship all together. She began to realize more and more that Kakashi didn’t have feelings for her. Perhaps in the previous moments they spent together, she had merely wished upon the reciprocation of her emotions and had imagined it. But every time she was about to give up, her feelings wouldn’t let her. She was constantly being drawn back to him.

For example, Naome had been exceptionally frustrated with Kakashi with their most recent mission. The two of them had been paired up with Izumo and Kotetsu to investigate a nearby village where young women were disappearing regularly. 

On the first day, they weren’t able to find many leads as to where the kidnapper had brought the women or why. They had decided to stay the night in an inn within the village. While planning in Izumo and Kotetsu’s room for their course of action the next day, the two best friends suggested that they should lure the kidnapper out with Naome as bait.

Naome shrugged, “that could work.”

With an angry scowl, Kakashi gave a firm and definite “no.”

“And why not?” Naome protested, “I think it’s a great way to get the kidnapper to show himself. We can set up a trap, lure him out, and then follow him into his hideout where he has the women.”

“It’s too dangerous.” He interjected.

Naome rolled her eyes. “I’m strong enough to protect myself, Kakashi. This isn’t a crazy S-Ranked mission, okay? Besides, you guys would be following right after me anyways.”

“No means no.”

“Why do you always treat me like a kid?!”

“Because you are-”

“Okayyy, there there you two.” Kotetsu interrupted, holding up to pause the argument. The two shinobi were sitting there, awkwardly watching the whole conversation take place. “That was just one suggestion. There are other ways to find them.”

“We’ll use my ninja hounds tomorrow.” Kakashi said with finality. 

“We already tried that today,” Naome replied. “The trail died cold. It’s almost like they used something to mask the scent on purpose.”

Kakashi got up and began walking towards the door. “Well, we’ll try again tomorrow. Let’s go Naome, it’s late.”

Naome was angry, furious even, that Kakashi had shot down all of her ideas as he often did just because he was the captain. She understood that Kakashi had years of experience ahead of her, but often, it wasn’t that her ideas wouldn’t work, it was that he was too overprotective of her to even try. 

“I’m staying here for the night.” She crossed her arms and stayed put at her spot on the bed. The last thing she wanted to do was return to a room alone with Kakashi so that he could shake her resolve in other ways. 

Kakashi stared her down with a disapproving look. Naome could tell he was fuming inside from her rebellious behaviour. Was she being childish? Maybe. But she had a point to prove tonight, and it was that she was a capable shinobi, and that Kakashi needed to begin thinking with the mission in mind first.

Noticing the tension building, Izumo stepped in between the two. He grabbed his bag from the floor and followed Kakashi towards the door. “It’s fine! I’ll just go with Kakashi then. No worries!” He turned the copycat ninja around and began pushing him out of the room. “It’s getting late. Let’s go, let’s go!”

Naome caught Kakashi sending another new look her way before the door clicked closed behind him. She knew that look, and it wasn’t anger. He was directing it at both Kotetsu and her. She sighed. _That jealous and possessive idiot_.

After the two left, both Naome and Kotetsu got ready for bed. She changed in the bathroom first, into her cotton t-shirt and shorts duo, and removed her headband, letting her hair flow down her back. By the time Kotetsu had gotten out of the bathroom after her, she had already turned off the room light and was fast asleep.

He took a quick look at the girl who he was always slightly attracted to. She was only a few years younger than him, but he knew better than to make a move on her because it was clear to the whole village that her and Shikamaru were an item. What he hadn’t realized before, was what a temper and strong resolve the girl had. He shook his head, wondering how on Earth Team Kakashi ever got things done with the way the two were bickering. Stretching his arms out, he climbed into his own bed and resigned himself for the night.

\---

The next day, they set off to the nearby woods again to search with the ninja hounds. Kakashi had them split into pairs in order to search the area more widely. Naome knew Kakashi intended for the two of them to be on the same team, but she was tired of being babied by him, so she quickly departed with Kotetsu at her side.

Izumo turned to look at the pissed off Kakashi and sighed. He couldn’t wait until the mission was over.

As Naome dashed off with Bisuke, the big bull and Kotetsu followed behind. After a few minutes, the dogs stopped, causing the two shinobi to come to stand still as well.

“What is it?” Naome asked the brown pup.

“I can smell a scent of one of the girls we were tracking yesterday. The thing is though….it seems a bit distorted.”

“What is that supposed to mean? Can you tell which way they went?” Kotetsu chimed in.

“Imagine it this way, it’s kind of like a fog that hasn’t lifted. It’s present, it’s everywhere, but it’s so weak that it’s barely there.” 

“That’s weird.” Naome said. “It’s like they’re purposely trying to mislead people and ninja hounds with the scents. I mean, it’s well known that the hidden leaf ninjas use ninja hounds to track so maybe, they’ve found a way to avoid getting caught.”

There was a sudden girl’s scream from a large distance ahead of them. Acting upon instinct, Naome took off in the direction of the sound. She could hear Kotetsu call from behind her to wait, but she didn’t want to waste any time. Instead she called back to the ninja, “go get Kakashi-sensei and Izumo!”

Without hearing his answer, Naome continued running towards the sound of the voice. As she ran, she made sure to leave a trail behind her. Knowing that scent was going to be difficult to track, she used visual hints instead. Pointing one finger at the ground, she used her water gun jutsu to draw X’s in the dirt to mark her path.

After a couple of minutes, she suddenly came upon a wall of fog so dense that she could barely see through it. She realized then that the voice she heard was most likely a genjutsu. It surrounded her, rather than coming from one exact direction. The entire environment screamed trouble. She pulled out her swords, and prepared for an ambush.

Sure enough, a couple of silhouettes began to surround her. She tried to keep them at bay, using her sword combined with her wind jutsu to slice in the direction each figure was coming in. While it did seem to deter some of the enemies from approaching as quickly, the wind actually made it worse. The mist that was surrounding her became more agitated. It was then that she realized there was a pungent smell in the air. 

Cursing under her breath, she realized the mist must have been laced with some kind of anesthetic that caused her to become drowsy. She began to lose focus of her surroundings despite how hard she tried to stay conscious as she knew the enemies were still lurking in the coverage.

“You cowards! Get your asses out here!” She yelled. A few did. They jumped out at her, and she easily took them down with her blades despite the haziness in her mind. She had killed about 3 or 4 before she realized there were many more in the shadows. 

Naome continued to fight until the drowsiness became overwhelming. The enemy didn’t seem to strike hard though, it seemed that they were merely waiting for the fog to take its effect. They seemed to take special care not to harm her, physically at least. 

Naome wasn’t sure how long she had been in the stand off until finally, her limbs went weak and gave in. At the last minute, she sliced her palm, wincing in pain at the sting. She could smell the concentrated scent of blood and iron as the blood poured out of her hand. Once she had dropped her swords, the enemy came and tossed her over their shoulder. Knowing she was about to be taken away, she just barely lifted Kakashi’s whistle to her lips and let out a soft blow, hoping she had left enough hints for her team to find her.

\---

The next time she awoke, she found herself surprisingly clean, stripped of her own clothes, and placed in a dark room. She was wearing a black lacy bra under a cropped, netted, long sleeve top, and a leather skirt that barely made it past her buttocks. Her hair had been pulled up in an uncomfortable tight updo. She cursed under her breath, knowing just exactly what type of establishment she had been brought to. Reaching for her necklace, her heart dropped when she realized it was gone. The dreadful feeling was replaced by anger because someone had taken her piece of Kakashi away from her.

The door to the room swung open. She flinched at the bright light that streamed into the room. “You’re up.”

“Where the hell did you take me?” She growled. Her vision was blurry and she was still drowsy from the earlier encounter. The stranger laughed darkly as he made his way to the kunoichi. He caressed her face, making her pull away from him in disgust, before he grabbed her arm and hoisted her up, dragging her out of the room. 

Naome could see a long line of rooms in the hallway. She could hear the moans and sometimes pained cries of some of the girls in those rooms. Some of the doors hadn’t even been closed fully and she cringed when she saw what was happening inside. Girls, all around her age, being forced to service men. 

The stranger dragged her to an open door before pulling her head back with his free hand. He leaned forward and gave her a whisper into her ear. “Be a good girl,” he warned. With that, she was thrown into the room, and the door slammed shut behind her and the lock clicked from the outside.

In the dimly lit room, there was a large bed in the center, and a much older looking man sitting on it, looking at her with hungry eyes. She narrowed her eyes at his judgemental gaze, the wrinkles of his skin, and the scars that littered his face. He must have been a shinobi.

She knew she had to get out of here, her team was probably on the way. It was well within her reach to break out, probably even without her weapons, but she needed to investigate first, and help free the other girls. Looking up at the hungry male again, she approached, knowing exactly how to play her cards right.

“You’re new here.” He commented as she walked up to him. He watched as she swayed her hips in a tantalizing way.

“And you’re a regular, I assume.” She slowly climbed onto the bed and crawled towards the man. 

He chuckled. “Indeed. Come here baby doll.” She followed his orders. Slowly she approached, making sure to give him a good view of her breasts as she made her way over. 

“There, there, you gotta be patient.” He was sitting upright, leaning against the pillows, when she sat on his lap, giving a slow grind into his already hard member. He let out a loud grunt in appreciation. She almost rolled her eyes at how perverted this guy was. He easily gave Kakashi a run for his money.

When he tried to reach out to touch her, she grabbed the bed sheet and ripped off a strip before promptly tying his hands together behind him. “Allow me.”

She slowly stripped the male of his shirt, noticing that he had a layer or protective mesh underneath that was typical of a shinobi. “So...what brings a handsome man like you around here?”

“Oh you really don’t know, huh darling? We men are here all the time. Shinobi from different villages passing by, just looking for a good time.” Naome could tell he was already smitten by the way he stared at her body as he spoke. She made sure to continue teasing him as she continued her interrogation.

“Really? Wow the boss must be quite popular then if everyone knows to come here.” 

“Popular?” He scoffed. “He’s the richest man in all the neighbouring small villages. How else do you think he can afford to pay all those rogue ninjas to keep this place running for him?”

“Rogue ninjas?” She realized a good amount of the ones that she fought must have hailed from the hidden mist village. It made sense to her now how shinobi were even involved in this whole mess of a situation to begin with. Naome had encountered many rogue shinobi during her time traveling alone. Without a place to go, they often turned to any form of income possible so that they could continue keeping themselves alive. Whoever the owner was probably provided them some good money, and likely a place to reside as well.

“Anyways enough talking.” He said as he broke his restraints and grabbed Naome by the hips. “I’m ready for some action.”

Rolling her eyes for real this time, she grabbed one of his hands and flipped him, throwing him across the room. His body hit the wall before rebounding onto the floor. Before he was able to get up again and cause a commotion, she jumped on top of him and hit him on the back of the head, knocking him out. 

Standing up, she pulled out one of the bobby pins that were holding her tight updo up. She let out a sigh of relief as the hair was loosened a bit, clearing her of her mild headache. Reaching the door, she quickly made do of the lock with the small piece of metal and escaped the room. 

In the hallway, there were about five shinobi patrolling the rooms. Naome was sure it was so there weren’t any female escapees or defectors. Almost immediately, she was spotted leaving her room, and she knew she would have to attack before more reinforcements arrived. Pulling a couple more pins from her hair, she stuck them between her knuckles. It seemed mediocre, but it was her only option for a weapon.

Luckily, she had always focused on hand to hand combat even before arriving in Konoha, and working with Kakashi had only augmented her abilities. She had learned to be fast and nimble when sparring with the copycat ninja, which easily allowed her to evade attacks from multiple enemies and knock out all of the guards that were in the hall. 

Working quickly, she went room by room to rescue each of the girls, even having to fight past many of their “clients” to free them. Once they were out, one of the girls that had been trapped there for a longer period of time, directed Naome and the rest of the group to a back door which led to the outside. Many of the guards took smoke breaks out there, she had said. 

Acting in a hurry, she made sure the coast was clear behind the door before directing the girls to escape, making sure to stay back so that she could fight the shinobi who were bound to be on the way. Sure enough, they were charging full speed down the hallway at her. 

Fighting off the onslaught of enemies was becoming difficult, afterall, she was not dressed the part, had no proper weapons, and had to keep an eye out for the girls behind her. She knew the fight was over when for the slightest moment, she lost her concentration. One of the younger girls who looked absolutely famished had been dragged back by a rogue ninja, a blade held to her throat as hostage.

Naome dropped her fight, and within seconds, she was surrounded in a large circle by shinobi with face masks on. They had drawn their weapons and begun enclosing her step by step. Just as one of them pulled her arm back and held a kunai to her throat, and another ninja had a kunai pointed at her chest, the ground shattered right next to her, forcing the enemies to scatter backwards. A bright flash of lightning filled the hallway, stunning and taking out the majority of the men there.

“Kakashi…” She stared in awe at the silver-haired ninja who had arrived just in time. Without a word, he shrugged off his ninja vest and threw it at her. She slipped it on, just in time to catch her swords which he had tossed in her direction as well. 

“I didn’t know you would come-”

“Shut up.” He said. The coldness in his voice made Naome stagger back. “I’m not in the mood to talk right now. Izumo and I will stay to take down the rest of the enemies. You and Kotetsu will follow Pakkun and get the girls out of here. We’ll meet you back at the inn.”

Naome took a quick glance at the situation around them. Kotetsu stood at the backdoor, having single handedly taken down the rogue ninja that had held the girl hostage. Izumo stood in front of Kakashi and Naome, fending off some of the enemies that had begun piling in again. She turned back to the jonin in front of her.

“But there’s-” She tried to explain her intel about the owner of the establishment and rogue ninjas they were fighting but Kakashi cut her off.

“I swear to God Naome. If you speak one more word against my orders…” 

Sensing the true anger in his voice, Naome decided to bite her tongue and drop the conversation. She mumbled a quiet and defeated “stay safe” before turning around and meeting Kotetsu outside.


	25. Chapter 25

Naome sighed as she sunk deeper into the warm water surrounding her. She had been in the hot spring for a while, and she figured she should probably leave now that her fingers were nice and wrinkly, but she didn’t want to go out and face an angry Kakashi.

The mission, despite the messy start, was ultimately successful. Naome and Kotetsu arrived into the small town with about 15 of the girls who were all kidnapped, and returned them home safely. Kakashi and Izumo joined them a few hours later after having defeated all the shinobi in the establishment and captured the owner. They dropped the owner off with the nearest Konoha patrol team to be sent back to the Hidden Leaf for further interrogation.

As a team, they too began to make their way back to the village when Izumo and Kotetsu suggested to stop by an onsen as a treat for completing a successful mission. Naome agreed and Kakashi didn’t disagree, so the decision was made. The only problem was, the best friends had insisted that the other two share a room in order to break the tension, and “mend their friendship and teamwork.”

Naome had stayed in the women’s onsen until her skin began to prune. She still didn’t want to get up because she knew that she was in trouble with the copycat ninja as soon as she returned to the room. Afterall, he hadn’t spoken a word to her the entire time, and at every small glance she took of him, he looked furious.

When she started getting light headed from the warmth and the steam, she finally decided to suck it up and head back to her room. She slipped into the bath robe that the onsen had provided and threw her hair up in one of the clean towels. Grabbing her clothes, she made her way out of the change room and down the hall to her and Kakashi’s room.

The older man was expecting her when she walked in. He sat on the bed, glaring at the door with his arms crossed. His mask and headband were gone which emphasized the deep frown lines on his face. She could tell he was disappointed in her which made her feel all the more guilty.

Dropping her eyes to the floor like a kicked puppy, Naome approached the shinobi. “Hi…”

Kakashi stood up, towering over the tiny kunoichi. As he stepped forward, she backed up until her back met the wall of the room. The intensity in his eyes made her shrink a bit.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered. 

“Do you know what you’re sorry about?” It was her first time hearing his voice directed at her since the folding of the brothel. He was rougher than usual. She’d never heard him so tense before.

“Sorry for...getting captured and putting the mission at risk?”

He gave a frustrated grunt and grabbed her by the shoulders. The force of his hands made Naome flinch slightly. “Really? That’s your answer? Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?”

“Well I’m safe now. Besides, how else would we have found them if I didn’t get myself captured? Even the hounds said that they couldn’t track the girls through the cover.”

“To hell with the mission! What did they do to you while you were there?” Kakashi asked as he inspected her briefly.

“Nothing!” She pulled her robe tighter around her body, being self-conscious of his gaze. “I think you’re underestimating me again.”

He put one hand in his hair in frustration. “I’m not underestimating you. Do you know how many male shinobi were in that complex? Both guards and customers? Do you see the way they dressed you? You went in with no weapons. You were drugged, and you had no idea what the place even was!”

“And then I single-handedly took down at least 50 of them, and freed all the girls from their rooms-”

“And then what happened?” Kakashi interrupted. “You could have been dead if I arrived even a second later.”

Kakashi’s eyes were red and almost teary. His breathing ragged as he caught his breath and looked down at the girl in front of him. Naome’s gaze softened, seeing how distraught her teacher was. She placed a palm on his chest and leaned in. “I’m sorry I put myself in danger. I’m sorry I went ahead without listening to your orders. But I’m safe now...so let’s just relax okay?”

His grasp on her shoulder lightened but his gaze still remained intense as he looked her in the eyes. “I can’t. I can’t relax when it comes to you.” He sighed. “I don’t know what you want me to do, Naome. I really don’t. I asked you - begged you several times, to keep yourself safe. But everytime I turn away, it’s like you’re running into danger. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“What do you mean?” Her eyes scanned his, trying to decipher his words.

He closed his eyes, breath trembling as he spoke. “I mean I can’t spend another moment worrying about your every move. It’s causing me anxiety to think about what could happen to you.”

“You don’t...want me anymore?”

He shook his head. It broke him to the core to even consider that, especially now that he was beginning to succumb to his feelings for the girl. “Quite the opposite. I can’t imagine what my life would be without you. I’ve lost and lost and lost every single person important to me in my life before. It would literally kill me if something were to happen to you.” He pressed his forehead against hers, holding her tightly around the waist. 

“So I beg you one last time. Please don’t do anything that would get you in trouble. I’m not underestimating you. I’ve told you a million times how strong you were already. Hell, I’m proud beyond belief of how you took all of those shinobi and rogue ninjas down, but do it for Shikamaru, do it for yourself, and do it for me. Please, no more. Don’t do anything reckless anymore alright?”

She closed her eyes as well. While one of her hands stayed on his chest, the other one went up to trace his scar. “Okay.”

Kakashi gave her one last pleading look before pulling her into a tight embrace. His lips pressing against her’s almost desperately. She responded to his actions with the same amount of unbearable emotion. For some reason, it felt like Kakashi had been more vulnerable with her today, like he was giving her hints of himself, and possibly even hints of his past. She wanted to ask about it, but for now, she accepted all that he was able to give to her.

Kakashi had lost his mind when he had found out that Naome had gone off on her own. He followed the sound of the whistle, well ahead of his team, and his heart stopped when he found her blood leading in a thick trail on the floor of the forest. He had never run so fast in his life, even for Rin, as he followed the trail into the unknown. 

When he found her, he could barely contain his need to break in recklessly and rescue her. He had barely hatched a rescue plan with his team before he set it to action. His blood ran cold when he saw for the briefest of seconds that Naome had been held at knife point.

As he kissed Naome, he had all sorts of flashbacks. The way Rin died by his hand. The way that Naome had almost died right in front of his very eyes. He couldn’t care less that this most definitely confirmed his love for his student, because in that moment, her life mattered to him more than his own.

He was angry. So unbelievably angry that she ran off without him. Shaking almost, he held her tighter, his grip so strong that it could leave bruises on her skin. He bit her lower lip, hearing a loud gasp from her in response.

He slipped Naome’s robe down past her shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor and pool at her feet. He pulled her hair free of the towel and took a deep breath. He melted as he took in the sight of her bare and vulnerable form in front of him. He loved the way her wet and unbrushed hair fell over her shoulders and onto her chest. Her body fit in his arms as if it was molded perfectly for him. Her brown eyes, round and glistening as she looked back at him with all the love in the world. Her long eyelashes. Her lips. Her body. She was beautiful. She was his.

\---

When the morning came, Naome awoke to the feeling of Kakashi tracing shapes on her bare arm with his finger tips. Naome’s eyes fluttered open. A feeling of joy flooded her as she noticed Kakashi hadn’t made a move to distance himself from her. 

Every time they had spent an intimate moment together, she would wake up on edge, unsure of whether or not it would bring them together or draw them apart. Today, she relished in the feeling of Kakashi’s naked body pressed against her own. 

“You’re awake.”

“Yeah…” Naome replied with a yawn. “What time is it, do we have to get up soon?”

“No. We have maybe another hour before we meet Kotetsu and Izumo at the front.” 

Naome found herself chuckling at the sound of the two shinobi’s names. Kakashi raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking that they were correct. Sharing the same room did bring us back together…you wouldn’t think they’re suspecting…”

“No… I doubt they’d suspect it.” He eyed her collar bone. “Although...you might want to hide that mark…”

Naome gasped, her eyes widening in horror as her hand flew up to cover the spot that Kakashi was staring at. “Are you serious Kakashi? I always tell you to not leave any marks!”

He chuckled, giving her a playful kiss on the lips. He trailed his mouth down with little butterfly kisses until he reached her collarbone again. He smirked against the sensitive skin. “I’m just kidding. There’s nothing there...unless you want there to be.” He gave a playful bite to emphasize his point.

Groaning at his joke, Naome pushed his head away. Kakashi only retaliated more with a mischievous grin on his face. He rolled over, pressing his naked body onto hers as he supported his weight on his elbows. Naome flushed bright red when she felt his morning wood brush against her leg. 

“You know...we have enough time for round two,” he suggested. To be honest, Kakashi wasn’t planning on actually doing anything, but he enjoyed the opportunity to make Naome as flustered as possible. If it meant he could also get rid of his problem down there, then that would be a welcomed bonus. The usual snarky student of his was rendered speechless as she stared up at the man in front of him.

Kakashi closed the distance between them, capturing her lips with his. His hands began to roam the familiar body, causing Naome to whimper whenever he reached a sensitive spot. Just as Kakashi was about to make a move, a quick knock came on the door.

“Kakashi. I just received news from the village. We are summoned to report to the hokage as soon as possible. It seems that there’s an emergency.” 

Naome’s eyes widened at the sound of Izumo’s voice. She had only prayed over and over that he would not barge in. A loud moan escaped her mouth as Kakashi gave a particularly hard pinch on her sensitive nub. Her hand came flying to her mouth in response.

With a smirk, Kakashi replied the man at the door. “What’s the emergency?”

“I’m not sure. The message didn’t specify, but it seems that Lady Hokage is calling for you and Naome specifically.”

This made Naome’s eyes widen and Kakashi to stop his actions entirely. The heated moment was over as dread filled both of their systems. 

Kakashi sighed and rolled off of the girl. He gathered his clothes from the floor and picked up his mask that was on the counter. “Okay.” He called to the other side of the door. “We’ll leave as soon as possible. Meet us at the front when you are ready.”

When silence came on from the other end, Naome finally remembered to breathe again. “Kakashi...you don’t think….”

He walked over and pecked her lovingly on the forehead, trying to calm the panicked look in her eyes. He would be lying to say he wasn’t thinking it as well. “No. There might be something else happening. Don’t worry about it.”

Still, the worry didn’t fade from Naome’s mind. Afterall, it’s not like they were particularly discreet about their extremely close friendship. They often walked around town together with just the two of them. As she stared blankly at the wall, imagining all the different consequences if they were to be found out. Would she be banished from the city? Would she lose her job? Even worse, what would happen to Kakashi? Would he be sent to prison? Lose his rank? 

“What do we do if it is…?” Her voice was shaking. 

Kakashi turned to her with a soft, reassuring smile. “Then we’ll figure it out together.”

His heart fluttered as a small grin and a blush grew on the kunoichi's face. If it were any other day, he would have had his guard up, and maybe even suggested ending the relationship, but their conversations the night before only proved to him how much he was falling for the girl, and how determined he was now to make it all right.

He quickly pulled on his shinobi outfit and his mask before grabbing his headband off the counter as well. As he was tying it in place, he turned to the kunoichi who was still laying in bed, stunned.

“So...are you going to get up, or did you really want round two?”

Naome shook her head profusely. “I just can’t get up with you standing there is all.”

Kakashi scoffed and walked over next to her. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before whispering into her ear. “I’ve seen it all already babe.”

Pushing the perverted ninja away, she got out of bed and grabbed her clothes from her bag. She threw them on as quickly as possible, being fully aware of the set of eyes that were watching her the entire time.

In moments, the two were out of the room and back in business. Their brief playful and romantic moments as well as their worries were pushed aside as they raced back to the village with their team for the matter that was awaiting them at home.

\---

When the team arrived back to the hokage’s quarters, Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru were already standing there. Naome, Kakashi, Kotetsu, and Izumo had all expected at least some sort of congratulations on a successful mission, but the look on Tsunade’s face was grave as she sent the best friends home.

Looking at the people who were left in the room, Naome’s blood ran cold. This was it...the hokage must have called them to disband the team and discipline her and Kakashi. She took one wary glance at Shikamaru who was standing on the side of the room. The male merely yawned as if it was another typical day.

“You called us here today milady?” Kakashi started. His demeanor was still as calm as always. Naome wondered how he did it as she was so anxious she was about to faint.

Tsunade looked up and eyed everyone, a solemn look on her face. Her eyes settled on Naruto’s before she avoided eye contact again and stared at her desk. “There were recent reports about the leader of the Akatsuki residing in the Hidden Rain Village.” 

Naome felt Shikamaru’s sudden peak of interest as he looked at her at the mention of her original village. Realizing this wasn’t about her and Kakashi anymore, Naome let out a deep breath in relief. Her shoulders relaxing, but still alert at the seriousness of the topic at hand. With a heavy breath, Tsunade continued.

“Jiraiya went to find the leader called Pein. He went on his own to gather information.”

“So where is he now?” Naruto’s raspy voice cut in. “Where’s the pervy sage?”

Closing her eyes, and clenching her fists on top of the table, Tsunade spoke with a shaky voice. “Jiraiya….he died...at the hands of Pein.”

A long, extended silence filled the room. Kakashi and Sakura’s head dropped in response to the tragedy. Naome, still not knowing Jiraiya that well, felt a heavy weight on her chest as she turned to look at a frozen Naruto. 

“Stop….Stop joking around granny. Where’s the pervy sage?” Naruto’s body was trembling as he stared down at the floor in front of him. Naome’s eyes only softened in sympathy. She looked over at Kakashi, knowing just how broken she would be if she found out her own master had died in the line of action.

“I’m afraid she’s not joking, Naruto boy.” It was the first time that Naome noticed the tiny green toad sitting on the corner of Tsunade’s desk. The older toad hadn’t spoken the whole time until now. “I was there when Jiraiya boy was fighting Pein. They were too strong...There were six of them and we got ambushed. We managed to only take one down and bring the body with us before...well….before…”

“Boy?!” Naruto screeched. “Don’t call him a boy you geezer toad! Have some respect!-”

“Naruto that’s quite enough.” Tsunade reprimanded, only to have the blonde shinobi glare at her in return.

“How could you granny Tsunade?! How could you send him on such a dangerous mission? You knew how deadly the Akatsuki are! He would never allow you to go on the mission if he was in your shoes. HOW COULD YOU?!” Naruto broke down as he began making his way out the door. 

Sakura stepped up, making a move to stop him, when Tsunade called her back. “But milady…”

The door slammed shut behind the broken ninja, reestablishing the solemn atmosphere in the room. Naome could tell just by the look on her face that Tsunade was grieving beyond belief, just as much, if not more than Naruto was. Her respect for the hokage only grew as she watched her handle her emotions with humility and a masked sense of calmness.

“Shikamaru.” She called.

The lazy ninja straightened up, taking his hands out of his pockets. “Yes lady Tsunade.”

“I would like you to take a look at the code on Lord Fukasaku’s back. I need you to do what you can to decipher the message. It’s the only clue we have from Jiraiya about fighting Pein.” Tsunade said, with her chin still resting on her hands.

“But milady, I have other-”

“Shikamaru, please.” Sakura hushed her classmate with a soft voice. “Lady Tsunade also has a lot on her plate. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

Naome examined the look on Shikamaru’s face. It wasn’t like him to say no to authority, but she could tell from his body language and the circles under his eyes that he was exhausted. She knew that Shikamaru had been working tirelessly on the treaty between the Sunagakure and Konohagakure, as well as trying to contact other nations to extend partnerships between nations. She couldn’t blame him for not wanting to take charge of this investigation either.

WIth a long sigh, the shinobi caved. “Alright.” He said. “I have to leave now if I want to get it to the Cryptanalysis Team before they get off work.”

“Please do.” 

As Shikamaru walked up to the desk and grabbed a photo of the code to be deciphered, Naome brushed her hand against his as a sign of comfort. On the way out the door, he gave her a warm smile despite the heaviness of the situation. Naome knew it must have been hard on him lately being busy with all of his work, and now even more so with the added pressure of decoding Jiraiya's final message.

"Milady, is there anything else we can do?" Sakura asked, her brows furrowed in concern. Tsunade shook her head.

"No. Not right now. But prepare yourselves, I feel uneasy about all of this…" 

"Okay." Sakura said, "I'll go support Shizune with the autopsy then."

She walked to the door and bowed to everyone before leaving.

Sensing the end of the meeting, Kakashi spoke up. “If there’s nothing else, I would like to request to be dismissed milady. I think the two of us should rest up so that we can better assist in the investigation tomorrow.”

“Yes, of course.” Tsunade replied with a shaky voice. All she wanted was to be left alone for a moment but her duties called for her. Maybe after this, she would have a chance to properly mourn. “And congratulations on another successful mission, Kakashi, Naome. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to say it before.”

Kakashi gave a strained “thank you,” before turning to Naome, motioning for them to go. Giving Tsunade one more worried glance, Naome bowed deeply in front of the broken Hokage and the two of them left. The teacher-student duo split ways once they reached the entrance of the Hokage's building. 

"Go home and rest up. We'll see what we can do to help tomorrow." Kakashi said. Naome knew despite his words, Kakashi was a workaholic at times and he wouldn’t be resting. In fact, he would probably be doing his own investigating or visiting Naruto once they parted. She also knew though, that she wouldn’t be able to stop him even if she tried..

Giving her backpack a tug, Naome turned in the direction of the Nara mansion. She figured someone would have to let the family know that Shikamaru would be home late. She stopped briefly to speak with her sensei. "We’re still training tomorrow?"

"More than ever," Kakashi confirmed. Tsunade was right. There was an uneasiness in the air, and he knew he had to get both of them prepared for it.


	26. Chapter 26

A dim light illuminating the room roused Naome from her sleep. She watched from the bed as the familiar figure rummaged his way around the room, changing from his daily outfit into much comfier clothes. Shikamaru entered the washroom for a few moments and she heard the water run. He emerged a few moments later, hair down and wet, and a towel around his neck. He heaved a large sigh and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Another long day?” She sat up behind the ninja and took the towel from him. She watched as his shoulders slumped and his head dropped forward in exhaustion. Gently, she massaged the plush towel through his locks, making sure the hair would be thoroughly dried before his head hit the pillow.

“Yeah. It’s been two days already. We can’t seem to figure out the code.” His voice was strained with frustration, and defeat. Naome knew that he was often harder on himself than others, especially when he was in a strategic or logical pickle. She leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before continuing her ministrations. 

“If anyone can do it, it’s you.” She knew the pressure on him must have been tremendous. Afterall, this was a matter of emergency for the entire village. “What about Naruto? Have you checked in on him? Maybe he could help.”

Shikamaru sighed, “yeah, but he’s a little messed up right now. I guess I’ll try visiting him again tomorrow.”

“You know...he’s just like you right now. He’s probably just as hurt that Jiraiya is gone. He was his mentor, just as Asuma was to you. A father almost.” Naome gave him a small massage on the shoulders, just as he had always done for her. “I think deep inside you already know how to help him.”

Shikamaru turned around, a faint smile painted on his face. One of his arms went around her waist naturally, enjoying the comfort of her presence, something he needed so desperately after days of working overtime trying to solve the puzzle. “Yeah. I’ll go find him tomorrow again, and maybe bring him to see Kurenai-sensei. Do you think after your training tomorrow, you and Kakashi-sensei can come to the Cryptanalysis office? I’m wondering if the code could also be for him as well.”

“Yeah of course.” Naome never missed the pain in Shikamaru’s eyes every time either one of them was forced to mention Kakashi’s name in conversation. She knew what she was doing was wrong, and never in her life had she planned on leading on a guy like this, especially not someone she cherished so much.

They went to sleep that night, holding each other as they did every other night that both of them were home. No matter what happened in their day, and what was brewing for the future, they simply enjoyed being in each other’s presence in the moment. Afterall to both of them, this was home. 

\---

After training and lunch the next day, Naome and Kakashi met Shikamaru and Naruto at the Cryptanalysis department. Upon arriving, Naome noticed that they had an unusually small team in the library-like space. Spotting her favourite chunin who was staring at a picture of the code intensely, Naome skipped up to him and greeted him with a back hug.

“You’re here.” She could hear the smile in Shikamaru’s voice even from behind.

“Yup! Also, I knew you probably didn’t eat lunch yet so Kakashi and I brought some for you.” Naome stepped away from the teenager and pointed towards Kakashi. With a grin, the teacher held up a take out bag of food in one hand. A small, grateful smile grew on Shikamaru’s face as he stepped forward and accepted the food from the man. 

“So how’s the decoding going?” Naome asked as she looked around the room. Her eyes fell onto a broken Naruto, who seemed like he could use many good nights of sleep. The only good news was that he seemed more up and about, and ready to move on. 

“Well Naruto seems to be the key for this code. He figured out that master Jiraiya’s writing pattern and that the 9 is actually the character for ‘ta.’ We also figured the numbers must correspond to one of the novels that he’s written.” Shiho, one of Shikamaru’s assistants said. Naome noticed that she had been staring between her and Shikamaru the entire time but she didn’t feel the need to address it as many people often made observations about their relationship. However, the faint blush on Shiho’s cheeks every time she glanced at Shikamaru told another story.

Naome chuckled. The lazy genius seemed to be oblivious to it all which made her feel sorry for the girl, but at the same time, put her mind at ease.

“I think I know which book Jiraiya is referring to.”

To everyone’s surprise, Kakashi spoke up from his place in the room. The wonder was, how was it that Naruto wouldn’t know which novel it was, and Kakashi did? Naome watched as Kakashi reached into his green vest and pulled out his Makeout Tactics book. She rolled her eyes and let out a dramatic sigh.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” All this time Naome had wanted to burn that novel in Kakashi’s hand, usually because he was reading it at the most inopportune times. “ _That_ is the key to this whole mystery?!”

Kakashi gave his student a playful smile. “Well, can’t hurt to try it out.”

“Okay,” the assistant said. “The first number is 31. We can try flipping to page 31 and reading the first line.”

“R-reading the first line?” Naome burst out laughing at Kakashi’s stutter as he stared at his book, his face turning red. Everyone else started at him, waiting patiently in expectation, but Naome couldn’t help but continue laughing.

“Go on, sensei, read out the first line!” She urged him to continue, knowing exactly what the book entailed. 

Kakashi sent a glare to Naome before looking around at the younger ones around him. Very slowly and hesitantly, he turned to the page. “‘The way they kissed made the world seem as if it were burning - in passion.’” 

Everyone in the room narrowed their eyes at the cheesiness of the words. Naruto mumbled a quick jab under his breath, “I told you I got bored of reading his novels. They’re no good.”

As Shiho diligently wrote down all the words of the sentence, Naome sent Kakashi a smirk. It was only the beginning of the book and she was sure the true nature of the novel would expose her sensei soon enough. 

“Alright. Page 8?” A moment of silence ensued as Kakashi flipped to the page number. For a minute, Naome wondered how the novel hadn’t been torn to pieces yet with the amount of time the ninja kept it with him, either in his hands, or in his pocket even during missions.

“‘Real emotions came out.’”

“Page 106.” 

This time, Kakashi’s breath hitched when he reached the page and read the first line in front of him. “‘One hour later, they finally came on top of one another.’”

Shikamaru sent Naome a questioning look, quirking an eyebrow even in silence. Naome only broke down in giggles even more, seeing the way the lazy genius was judging Kakashi. Shikamaru then shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. 

“Page 7.”

“‘Not holding back any longer..’” 

“Page 207.”

“‘Among the three of them...she cried out the loudest,” Kakashi mumbled the last part, just loud enough that he wouldn’t have to repeat himself. 

“I’m sorry, what was that sensei?” Naome purposely egged him on, but Kakashi only replied with a sharp look in her direction. A part of him wondered if he was actually being set up by the lazy genius and his girlfriend, especially after Naome had intentionally asked him to come here after training. He swore to himself that after this, if he even got out of it without dying of embarrassment, he wouldn’t carry the book around the evil kunoichi again.

“And...page 15.” Shiho said as she scribed each word without even flinching. 

“‘Them.’” He breathed a sigh of relief on the last one. “The first word on the page was the last word of the sentence. It just says them.”

At this point the Naruto and Shikamaru were staring at their sensei in awe. Of course, one could have always imagined what was written in that book, but until they cracked it opened and read it in detail, no one would have anticipated the type of dirty and kinky topics the pervy sage wrote. 

“The real one’s not among them.” Shiho murmured, causing the entire room to turn and refocus on the situation at hand. “The real one’s not among them…? What does that even mean?”

“I’m not sure.” Shikamaru replied, “but let’s bring it to Lady Tsunade and Lord Fukasaku and see if they have any idea.”

\---

The decoding had been a success, though the exact meaning of Jiraiya’s words remained ambiguous even to Lord Fukasaku himself. That day, Naruto decided to head off to Mount Myoboku to train in sage mode with the toads. With a state of emergency declared across the Land of Fire, Tsunade put a greater importance in reinforcing the village’s barriers, training shinobi, and investigating the bodies left behind by Jiraiya. 

Naome had become more wary as each day passed, mainly because the men around her seemed to be more on edge. She almost wanted to scream at the two of them because the way they acted made her feel as if she was an incompetant human being which was most definitely not the case. 

Everywhere she went, at least one of them followed. The day always started off with Shikamaru dropping her off at the training grounds to meet Kakashi, even if that meant he would be late to his own duties due to Kakashi’s usual tardiness.

Training with Kakashi was more hardcore than usual, often times with the jonin pushing her way past her limits. He seemed to be in a rush, cramming in the formation of her ice release along with intensive taijutsu sparring. He never held back during their fights, forcing Naome to react quicker and stronger than she ever did before. For the most part, it worked. She was almost becoming as quick as the copycat ninja himself, but every training session had her losing in the end. Kakashi made sure of it.

After training and lunch, Kakashi would spend time with her, constantly keeping her in his line of sight (or practically babysitting her, in her mind), until they were ready to pick up Shikamaru in the evening. This meant that supervision had been passed off, and Kakashi could return home with a peaceful mind. 

On one hand, Naome was glad that this situation forced the two of them to cooperate fully, the animosity between them seemed to be put on hold. On the other hand, she had become so agitated with being watched and supervised that she just wanted to run away from both of them. 

When confronting each of them, Kakashi played it off with a shrug. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We always spend all day together!”

“Do you always walk me to Shikamaru’s office every evening?” Naome shot back with a deadpan expression. 

“No, but I just want to spend more time with you.” Kakashi insisted with a wide, oblivious grin on his face. Naome groaned in frustration, but let the conversation die there. Afterall, she knew she wouldn’t win this one because Kakashi had always been overprotective of her.

Shikamaru on the other hand, never used to baby her, which made her all the more irritated at his new behaviour. She questioned him one day as they were waiting for Kakashi at the training grounds. “You know, you can head to your office now. You’re already half an hour late. Kakashi is bound to be even more tardy.”

His eyes remained closed as he leaned laid on the grass nonchalantly. “I don’t have that much to do,” A total lie, Naome thought. “Besides, work is a drag. I’d rather spend some time with you here.”

With the way he worded it, Naome could only huff a defeated breath of air. In the end, she decided to appreciate the fact that she could see Shikamaru more, and enjoy the time that they were able to spend together.

This continued for about a week until one day, it came to an abrupt end. Naome had been out, walking around town with Kakashi after their lunch break when suddenly, Kakashi stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the space around them. It only took an extra second for Naome to realize something was wrong, and the ground had begun to rumble underneath her feet. 

“You don’t think…”

Kakashi didn’t think twice. “Get to the evacuation shelter.”

“What? Now?” Naome replied. “You don’t even know what’s going on yet. For all you know, it’s just a small earthquake.” 

“For the love of-” Kakashi’s anger was cut off when the village’s emergency siren suddenly blared throughout the streets. Orders to evacuate were immediate, with shinobi lining the streets to help the civilians head towards the shelter. 

The roads were littered with people, scrambling in all directions. There was commotion everywhere, especially with small children and elderly wandering the roads. 

“You go find lady hokage and figure out what to do.” Naome said as she threw her hair up into a high ponytail. “I’m going to help evacuate the civilians.”

“But-”

“Kakashi,” Naome continued, as she looked him in the eye. She grasped his hand in hers, despite the fact that they were in broad daylight. “Listen to me. I’ll be fine. Let me do my duty as a shinobi. If this is what we think it is, then you can’t afford to keep protecting me any longer. Not over all these people’s lives.”

Kakashi scanned her eyes for what felt like the longest moment, blind to the world around them. He knew he would kick himself in the gut if anything were to happen to her, that is, if Shikamaru didn’t get to him first. But she was right. He couldn’t keep babying her forever, especially now that the village needed as many shinobi on the front lines as possible.

There was another large rumble less than a kilometer away, causing the chaos to heighten around them. Buildings were beginning to crumble, and they could see blasts of energy and flying debris everywhere. Kakashi stepped closer to the kunoichi, holding her face between his hands as he leaned forward so that their headbands were touching.

“Okay,” he caved. He let out a couple of shaky breaths before continuing. His heart raced anxiously at the thought of letting her go. “But you promise me, stay safe. Once you have as many people out of the way as possible, you will stay with them. Consider it protecting them from the enemies.”

“Okay.” Naome raised her hands too, feeling the tenderness of his skin under her fingertips. One would be delusional to not be afraid of the enemy that was upon them. She was not just afraid, she was terrified, but for some reason, the world seemed okay in his arms as they stared in each other’s eyes.

“Promise me.” He pleaded. With one hand, he reached up to pull his mask down before returning to caress her cheek.

“I promise you I will stay safe.” Despite her answer, he continued to watch her deeply. 

“What is it?” Her eyes scanned his, and watched as it wavered between fear, longing, and indecision.

“...Nothing.” He whispered. Leaning in, he gave a lingering kiss to the girl he had fallen for. In that moment, nothing else mattered. He knew he would be damned if someone saw them like this. He knew that the village was falling apart around them, but right now, nothing but her mattered.

Their lips parted. Kakashi looked forward and caught a stray tear that had just fallen from her eyes. She was shaking a bit, and he knew that despite the strong persona that she often posed, she was panicking on the inside.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered. “You do you. You’re strong. You’re my student afterall. Remember that.”

Giving her one last kiss on the top of her head, he stepped back, his fingers slowly drifting from her face. He took another step back and pulled his mask up. Another boom resounded in the background, and Kakashi turned toward the action, forcing his gaze off of the girl in front of him.

“Promise me you’ll stay safe too,” he heard Naome call out to him. He merely turned to her and gave her one last grin under his mask before he dashed off.


	27. Chapter 27

As the silver-haired shinobi gradually disappeared beyond her sight, Naome turned to the citizens running about ahead of her. She knew she had to get them to the underground tunnels which led to the evacuation shelter behind the Hokage Stone Wall. Scanning the area, she found one of the chunin shinobi directing the civilians into an alley where there was an underground entrance.

She quickly dashed over to the tanned ninja and helped him assist the children, elderly, and disabled down the laddered steps. 

“Is there anything else I can do to help?” she asked the brown haired stranger. Despite being born in a war torn nation, she had barely any recollection of what a village siege was like from when she was a child. Not having been in this village for long meant that she was not too familiar with all emergency protocols here either.

“If you can stay here and continue helping these people, I will stand by the entrance and bring any injured to the hospital so that they can be treated.” The male responded. Thankfully, as Naome looked around, she realized that not many of the people were severely injured in their area as the attack hadn’t quite reached yet. 

“Sounds good.” Naome lifted a little girl and brought her down into the hole in her mother’s arms. She replied to the man with a quick smile despite the dire situation. “My name is Naome by the way.”

“Iruka.” He replied, a light grin playing on his lips as well.

The two worked together for a while as the fighting intensified around them. Iruka stood at the entrance of the alley way, directing stray civilians in, while Naome helped to ensure they climbed down safely. As the traffic was beginning to die down, Kakashi’s words played in Naome’s mind. 

_“Once you have as many people out of the way as possible, you will stay with them. Consider it protecting them from the enemies.”_

Naome heavily debated whether or not she should enter the tunnel herself as she stood at the entrance of the alleyway waiting for any remaining people to turn in. Iruka had run out to escort a civilian to the hospital. She pictured how hard the shinobi was working and knew she couldn’t just leave him alone to finish the job. It would be too risky and unethical, even though she had just met the male moments ago.

A high pitched scream jolted Naome from her thoughts. She ran out to the street where the terrified screaming could be heard. Looking up, she could see and feel the creature approaching: a large orange centipede with purple eyes that resembled the Rinnegan that Jiraiya’s toad had described. Naome shuddered at the thought. She knew who the enemy was, but part of her still wished it wasn’t true. This just confirmed it. Pein was here.

Narrowing her eyes, she spotted a little boy running away from the large monster. His high pitched screaming pierced through the rumbling around the town. She took a frantic look around and found Iruka coming from the distance, having just returned. She turned back to the boy and knew it would be too late if she didn’t act now.

“Naome!” He shouted, eyes wide open as he stared in horror at the summoning.

“I’m on it!” She called. Naome reached for her swords and pulled them out, immediately dashing in between the large monster and the small child. She lept in the air, over the centipede, and came down, her sword piercing it through the head.

The creature continued moving and thrashing though. Its tail was strong enough to knock the child a good distance away, scratching up his arms and legs. “No!” Naome cried. Drawing in as much chakra as she could she swung her remaining blade several times in large slicing strokes at the monster. The wind chakra amplified her swings, cutting the centipede into large chunks, and forcing the animal to finally die.

She retrieved her blade from the monster’s head and sheathed both of them on her back. Dashing to the child, she was relieved to find that he was still breathing quite steadily. His eyes fluttered open though he immediately started whimpering and crying in pain.

Picking up the small boy, she went over to where Iruka was now watching in awe. He had barely seen the young kunoichi around town before but she proved to be quite powerful even though she looked to be the same age as some of his previous students. 

“We need to bring him to the hospital.” Naome said. She handed the young boy over to Iruka’s outstretched arms. “He could easily have a concussion or several broken bones from the way he was hit.”

Iruka nodded in agreement. “Okay. You stay here and do the final rounds. Make sure to cover the entrance way before you leave.”

“Alright.” Naome hovered protectively, actively scanning the street to ensure that no enemies were nearby as Iruka ran off with the child in his arms. She spent the next few minutes, diving in and out of the buildings to ensure that no one was trapped inside, especially in some of the fallen structures.

Just as she was satisfied with her search and closed the pothole cover of the passageway, she sensed the presence of a strong chakra no far off. Afterwards, there was a quaking that followed. Panic set in when she realized that was the direction that Iruka had run off to not long before. 

Kakashi’s commands to evacuate plagued her mind but she pushed them aside, mumbling a small apology to her sensei. She just couldn’t bring herself to sit out when the village was coming under attack.

She ran, as fast as she could in the direction that the overwhelming flow of chakra was coming from. Frantically, she searched as she went, hoping to find that Iruka had either hidden, or had already run past the enemy. No sign was a good sign, she figured. Maybe the child and tanned ninja did manage to escape.

“Fuck.” She cursed under her breath. Her hopes had gone down the drain when she spotted her new acquaintance curled protectively over the child up ahead. A familiar shade of orange hair which matched the body of the Pein in the autopsy, slowly approached them. She drew her swords and forced herself to be as quiet as possible as she approached. 

As she got closer to the conflict, she could hear the beginnings of the conversation. Shivers went down her spine as she heard the deep throaty rumble of the enemy’s voice. “I ask you again: Where is the Nine Tail’s Jinchuriki?” 

A small gasp escaped her lips as she realized what was happening. The enemy was turning the entire village upside down to find Naruto and the nine-tails that was locked away inside of him. The only problem was, Naruto was not here, and they wouldn’t stop until they found him. She figured and prayed that Lady Tsunade had called him home already so that he could help fight this, but a sense of doubt filled the pit of her stomach. Flashbacks kicked in of her original village being torn down, and now, her new home too.

“For the last time, I don’t know where he is!” Iruka shouted back at the enemy, while grasping the young boy tightly in his arms. “Even if I did...I would never sell out a comrade. No one in this village would!”

“In that case, you are useless to me.” 

Raising one of his arms, a rod protruded from the sleeve of Pein’s Akatsuki robe. He pointed his next attack directly at Iruka and the child. The terrified shriek of the young boy’s voice was like an alarm to Naome’s system. Her legs moved automatically, even though she had thought she was frozen in fear. Her body acted on its own as she reached into her tools pouch and pulled a kunai attached to a smoke bomb.

She chucked it with precision into the small gap between the enemy and her endangered comrade. As soon as the smoke saturated the air, she jumped into the area with her back facing Iruka and her sword pointed at the enemy. 

The blade in her right hand was tucked under Pein’s chin, pressed against the flesh of his neck. She could feel it in her hand. The tip of her other blade was pointed directly at Pein’s chest. As the smoke cleared, she began to see, more definitively, just how close her proximity was to the enemy.

The rings of the purple eyes seemed to be hypnotizing, almost as if it were staring in her soul and paralyzing her body. She was so close now that she could count exactly how many rods or piercings were on his face. She noticed the shorter, spiked up orange hair that had been styled differently from the one in the autopsy. The black pole that had originally been pointing at Iruka, was now dangerously close to her face. So much so that she could feel the heat of the chakra radiating against her skin.

“Where is Naruto Uzumaki?” Pein spoke in a monotone voice.

“I don’t know.” Naome lied. Her voice was confident, contrary to the way her insides were feeling. She tightened her grip on the blades, wondering how quick she could attack in comparison to how fast he could strike.

“Then I have no use for you.” 

Naome braced herself. Just as she was about to stab her sword into the enemy’s torso, a hand came out and grabbed the chakra rod. With a firm jerk of the wrist, the metal snapped into a few jagged pieces. The pierced shinobi had regained his posture in a quick moment and backed himself up, now watching the newly arrived opponent from afar.

“Kakashi…” Iruka mumbled, a sigh of relief escaping him as he recognized the back of the silver-haired shinobi.

“Take the kid to the hospital Iruka. We’ll handle it from here.” The jonin commanded. Iruka eyed the enemy for a second.

“You two shouldn’t fight him alone.” He replied.

“Don’t worry,” Naome said, an immediate wave of safety coursed through her at the sight of the familiar shinobi. “You can go. Between the two of us, we’ve got this.”

Throwing one more hesitant look between the two, Iruka took the young child in his arms and ran off in the direction of the hospital. Kakashi had positioned himself in between Naome and the enemy ever so slightly so that he was still in front, but Naome could still see clearly around his body.

Keeping his eye Pein, he spoke. “I told you to go to the shelter.”

“We don’t have time for this conversation right now.” Naome replied. She knew she had broken her promise, but the situation at hand seemed much more dire. 

“You’re right.” Kakashi said as he began weaving hand signs. “Remind me to punish you after this.”

“You perverted old man.” Naome grumbled under her breath as she charged up her blade. Luckily, working and training with Kakashi for the past year allowed her to learn more about his techniques and fighting style. She knew, without a word, what was coming almost as quickly as Kakashi wove hand signs.

Slamming his hands onto the ground, Kakashi glared up at the enemy. “Earth Style: Mud Wall!”

A tall barrier formed around the three of them, trapping Pein inside. Immediately, Naome took off. She produced a water clone and split, charging at Pein from both his sides. In an instant, Kakashi had charged up his Lightning Blade and dashed headon towards the enemy.

Naome gasped as she saw what unfolded. Kakashi missed, despite the fact that he never, ever missed. His hand slammed into the rock next to Pein’s face, and his own expression contorted in agony at the chakra rod that was now buried in his shoulder. 

“Kakashi Hatake...the Copycat Ninja. What a pleasure.” The purple eyes scanned the jonin, fixing themselves for a moment on the bright red Sharingan glared back at him. 

Now within striking distance, Naome leaped forward with her blade, bringing it down towards the Akatsuki member. She was sure she had just nicked the cloak when suddenly, she was frozen in the air, and thrusted backwards. Because she was in the middle of an in-air strike, she was unable to find her footing after being thrown back. Her shadow clone disappeared upon impact. The wind was knocked out of her system as she landed on her back into the rough ground, her swords falling to her sides.

Scrambling to her feet, Naome took a quick look around and found that the mud wall that Kakashi had set up had been blown to pieces, and Kakashi himself had also been shoved by the force a good distance away. Naome lost sight of him, but she was sure she could sense him within the fallen debris.

Naome kept her eye on the enemy as she thought deeply about what just happened. For the hundredth time she had wished she had the analytical skills that Shikamaru had. Just what the hell was that jutsu? From the corner of her eye, she saw Kakashi emerge from underneath one of the wooden planks

Grabbing her swords from the ground, she charged her blades up. A brief second of eye contact was exchanged before she sent a large funnel of wind towards the enemy. It met with Kakashi’s lightning along the way, amplifying its power into a large striking lightning bolt aimed directly at Pein’s body.

She watched in horror as their combination attack was deflected, nullifying it into thin air. Realization hit, that not only could this Pein reflect taijutsu by blasting his opponent away, he could also absorb ninjutsu as well.

Naome gnawed on her lower lip in frustration. “Fuck.”

Just as things couldn’t get any worse, her eyes widened as another cloaked opponent appeared behind Kakashi, trapping him in the middle. “Sensei!” 

Weaving hand signs, as quickly as Kakashi had trained her, she teleported behind her teacher, facing the newcomer. She cringed in disgust with the way the shinobi looked - if she could even call it a shinobi. Piercings and weapons protruded from its body, and she almost puked when she saw it detach its own arm. Missiles appeared and in a mere second, began firing in their direction. 

Using her swords, charged with wind chakra, she acted quickly, hitting the large missiles that were aimed at them, and redirecting them into the surrounding area. The ground shook as the missiles detonated upon impact, but neither Naome nor Kakashi flinched.

“Good job.” Kakashi murmured, his attention still on the first body. “Remember, we need to figure out each of their abilities. As Lord Fukasaku said, they each have their own specialized jutsu.”

“We could split. I’ll take this guy over here.” Naome replied. She was most definitely expecting Kakashi to counter her proposal, being his usual self, but his response surprised her.

“Let’s try it.”

Kakashi’s trust was all Naome needed to regain her confidence. A smirk played on her face as she analyzed her new opponent. Weapons meant taijutsu, and taijutsu, she could do. In fact, this Pein seemed a lot simpler than the first one. She knew, the best way was to get this done as soon as possible, so that she could assist Kakashi otherwise.

The Pein discarded his robe, revealing its multiple arms and a large chainsaw-like tail. Running forward, she easily weaved her way in and out of the weapons and missiles that the enemy shot her way. She threw her own kunais with explosives. They barely made contact before being deflected by a large chainsaw tail.

Rather than approaching the large saw ahead of her, she stopped, charged her swords and sent blades of wind chakra, watching as it made large cuts into the body, so much so that she began to see the metal plating and wiring underneath the skin. Continuing, she sent in a large cyclone-like attack which held it in place. She jumped in, hoping to give one final blow with her sword when suddenly, the enemy disappeared.

Following the quick movement she gasped as the multi-armed Pein had repositioned himself in front of the original, his chainsaw pointed towards Kakashi. 

“Get back here!” She screamed, but froze when she watched the first Pein raise his palm. In a second, her body was flying again, this time, being pulled towards the large metal saw. Using her sword, she jammed it into the ground below her and held on as tightly as she could as her body was being pulled towards the two Peins.

Kakashi, who was much closer to the enemies, threw out a long chain which anchored one end around a large block of cement. It was a lot harder for him to hold on against the force as his hand began slipping from the sweat that was pooling in his palm. The thin chain provided no room for him to grasp onto.

“No!” Naome cried in horror as she watched Kakashi’s hand slip through the last couple of inches of the chain and his body was pulled at full speed towards the saw. Her body went numb and she almost let go of her own anchor when she saw Kakashi’s body being pierced through to the other side. 

As quickly as it happened, it was over. Kakashi’s body disappeared in a bright flash of light, and a large fist the size of a building, came from the air, pummeling the militarized Pein to the ground.

The pull stopped, dropping Naome’s exhausted body to the ground. Choza and Choji had arrived on the scene, destroying the second Pein in the process. Not far from Naome, there was movement in the rubble where Kakashi’s body had originally flown. She felt her breath return to her as Kakashi’s real body emerged from the dust, though clearly more exhausted than before.

“You idiot…” Naome mumbled as she dashed quickly to his side to support his body. Tears in her eyes almost betrayed her, but she forced herself to hold it down, reminding herself that they were still in the middle of a fight. “You....Do you have any idea how badly you scared me with your stupid lightning clone?”

“That means it worked right?” The light hint of sarcasm was contrasted by his heavy breathing as he spoke. Throwing a smoke bomb, they retreated for cover along with the Akimichi father and son duo so that they could come up with a plan.

“You still have chakra left in you?” Choza asked Kakashi once they were well hidden from the enemy. Even from the naked eye, one could tell that Kakashi was more worn out than usual.

“I can still fight, but I only have about half my chakra left. That lightning clone took a lot out of me.” Kakashi murmured. “Nevermind that. For the enemy, keep in mind that all the Peins have connected vision, so they can see from multiple angles, though that shouldn’t be much of a problem now that you have taken one of them out. The one that’s left…he has some kind of attraction and repulsion technique. There’s a timed interval in between each one, although it’s short.”

Naome eyed her sensei in awe. The way he spoke was different than how she had seen him in any mission or training. His strategic and war time experience showed in the way he spoke and his positioning.

“Do you have a plan in mind?” Choza asked again. “You know the enemy the best.”

“Yeah...only one.” 

\---

Naome’s heart raced as she stood in her position according to Kakashi’s plan. Everyone else was also out of sight in their own spots, and all she could see was the back of the orange head of hair on the Akatsuki member’s head. She pulled out her weapons once again and stayed hidden as she listened intently for the cue. Given the amount of chakra Kakashi had left and the strength of the enemy, she knew that this would probably be the only chance they had to make it work.

The ground shook underneath and she held her breath as Kakashi popped out from underneath the feet of Pein, a lightning charged kunai aimed directly at the face of the criminal leader. She flinched as Kakashi was blown away, his body flying through the air like a rag doll. She forced herself to look away and refocus on the objective at hand.

In less than a second, Choji and his father crushed the enemy with the Human Bullet Tank technique. It looked as if it had worked, the enemy being squished between the two rolling boulders, but on closer inspection, Pein seemed to be pressing his palms against both of them, forcing them apart from each other. 

“Shinra Tensei. Almighty Push!” The deep voice boomed. As soon as the blast subsided, both Naome and Kakashi jumped into action again, Kakashi with his lightning blade, and Naome with her chakra infused sword. 

Lunging at the enemy from the front and the back, the two kept their eyes on the ultimate goal, to destroy Pein. It all happened in the briefest of moments.

The Pein they thought had been defeated jumped in front of their target, taking the full force of Kakashi’s lightning blade in replacement of its leader. Deva Pein, the one with the shorter hair, turned around with an extended pole in hand, and stabbed Naome through her left shoulder, keeping her at a distance and suspended in midair. 

Kakashi’s heart dropped when he heard it, Naome’s scream of agony as the rod continued digging deeper through her body. This wasn’t in his plan. He chose for himself to be the decoy, but somehow he had hurt her along the way. He willed himself to push further, to pierce through this enemy’s body so that he could get to the main aggressor. 

“Kakashi! Hurry!” Naome’s cries rang in his ears, reverberating in his entire body as he forced more chakra into his hand. He was almost there.

Suddenly, she was too far from him. Her shrieks of pain filled the air as their bodies were pushed away from their target, the black rod forcing itself back out of her already injured shoulder. Kakashi hit his back and his head as he fell into the pile of rubble. He tried to crack his eyes open to check on her, but he couldn’t see her from this angle.

“Now....since you’re the more troublesome one. I need to get rid of you first.”

Kakashi’s body was scooped up and buried in the dirt with only his head peeking through. From his new position, he saw it, Naome barely managing to sit up, her left arm limp and bleeding profusely. He looked up to the enemy, feeling his body slip in and out of consciousness already from his lack of chakra.

Pein stood at a distance, facing him, a nail placed between his fingers as he aimed the tip at the limp ninja in front of him. 

“Now, you shall feel pain.”

Kakashi could faintly hear the sound of Naome calling out to him as he used the remainder of his energy to focus on the nail that was shot at him. Summoning the rest of his will power, he used his Sharingan to warp away the sharp metal object. His head fell back as he began to black out from using up the bulk of his chakra. Any moment now, he knew he would faint.

He was vaguely aware of a familiar presence next to him and the rain that was dripping on his head. He smelt blood, a lot of it. “Kakashi, wake up.” A small smile played on his lips at the sound of her voice. It felt so nice. It felt like love, like home, like family. It felt like everything he ever wanted. 

“Please Kakashi. I’m begging you, wake up. You have to wake up.” 

“Now, it’s your turn.” The deep rumble of the voice jolted him awake, forcing his eyes open. Pein held up another nail in the same manner. This time though, it wasn’t pointed at him, but rather next to him.

 _No!_ Kakashi wanted to scream. He knew she was beside him. He knew it was her arms around his shoulders as she wept. She didn’t see it coming, but he did. 

“Die.”

Using the remainder of his chakra, he performed the impossible again. He felt the familiar strain in his eye before his vision blacked out all together. It seemed as if he was drowning and no longer able to see the surface anymore. He had only hoped it had worked

“Kakashi!”

Kakashi wanted to open his eyes. He had so much to say to her, so much he didn’t get a chance to express. He wanted to console her, to hold her in his arms one last time, but he could no longer feel his body. He saw it all, all the key moments in his life leading up until now. His father’s passing, joining the anbu, his teammates and sensei dying one by one, Rin, and finally, his last memory: Naome’s smile, and the sound of her voice calling out his name.


	28. Chapter 28

“He’s gone.” 

Naome turned to glare at the owner of the deep voice. The man merely looked down upon her desperate and shaking body. “There’s no use in crying. That’s where you, and everyone else will be going. He saved you once, but what are you going to do now? He can’t save you again.”

Naome moved to stand in front of Kakashi’s body despite the fact that her body was so tired, so broken, and so numb in fear and heartbreak. “How could you do this? What is it that you want anyways? Even if you get Naruto, what is that supposed to do?!”

“You know nothing young girl. Nothing about the world of pain.” 

Tears brimmed Naome’s eyes as she glared deeply at the purple ones in front of her. She had nothing now. No weapons to help defend her. No teammates here to help her. But for some reason, she still had the courage to stand here. 

“I know nothing about pain? How can you be so sure?”

“Tell me then, girl. What do you know about pain?”

Naome shook as she stood there. She could feel the weather changing around them as her emotions began to lose control. Rain poured, the wind began to swirl, but there she stood, strong as ever against the most dangerous shinobi she knew.

“I grew up in the Hidden Rain Village. My parents died because of war when I was 5. I was orphaned and forced to live on the streets because the orphanage could not support us. I travelled alone my whole life, and learned everything on my own. I was starved, assaulted, raped, and everything in between! And yet, I never found the excuse to do what you’re doing now. Tell me I don’t know pain!”

To her surprise, the shinobi paused for a moment to think of a reply. His eyes closed for a minute, and she could have sworn his body relaxed. “So we are one in the same...Well then, you ask me why I am doing what I am doing. My goal is to take away the weapons used by these oppressive nations. I will bring peace to the world, but first, I must let everyone know what is pain. So that they too can feel our pain.”

“Do you know what real pain is though?” She challenged him. “How can you know what real pain is if you have never loved? As war orphans we’ve lost everything from the beginning. But have you lost something you loved? Someone you loved?”

“Yes I have-”

“Then HOW? How can you think of bringing the same pain to other people? If you’ve truly loved and truly lost, you would never wish that feeling upon anyone!” 

The purple eyes scanned hers before landing on the lifeless body behind her. “So did you love him then?”

“Yes. I still do. More than ever.” Naome replied. Realization hit her then that she had never told those exact words to Kakashi. He died without hearing it, he died without knowing. He deserved to know. With all the darkness in his life, even the things that he refused to tell her, Naome felt the utmost regret. Of all people, he should have known that he was loved, cherished, and never alone. Now she would never have a chance to tell him. Now he was gone.

The elements around her intensified and she could feel it already, the water turning into hail around her, and some, into ice. She watched as those ice shards swirled in a cyclone-like pattern, creating minor cuts in Pein’s cloak and body. It did the same to her as well, although she never once flinched at the stinging feeling surrounding her.

“So what are you going to do now that he’s dead then? Avenge him? By killing me? Does pain not lead to more hatred? And hatred lead to pain? This is a never ending cycle. So once I become the leader of this world and rid it of pain, finally the fighting can all stop.” 

Naome scoffed. “Do you really think everyone will just stand still so that you can kill them and take over? It’s because we love that we choose to protect closest to us!”

“He chose to protect you.” Pein nodded to the man behind her. “And look at him now. Even love leads to more death. In order to protect the ones we love, we kill others. What makes you think your love is more righteous than another person’s life.”

“Kakashi didn’t just fight to protect me. He fought to protect his village! To me, that’s a hell lot more righteous than your damned life. Think about all the innocent people you’ve killed today!” Naome was becoming more frustrated. Her anger fueled her power. All together, she stopped the ice shards, and pointed them all in Pein’s direction.

“Think about what these large villages have done to our home.” Pein replied. “They’ve used it as a battlefield, trampled all over it. What about the innocent lives lost there? Your parents?”

Naome clenched her fists. As she stared down the enemy, she could see the images in her mind. The war torn, broken city. Trash, pollution, rubble, toxic gas, explosions, dead bodies, all littered everywhere. She had hated them at first too: every shinobi that stepped foot into her village, every shinobi that didn’t belong there. 

Then she thought of her travels. The teachers that taught her and housed her along the way. She thought about the friends she made here, her new family that she found in Shikaku and Yoshino, Shikamaru, Kakashi….

“That’s not my home.” Her gaze refocused, almost like lasers pointing at the purple eyes in front of her. “Don’t you dare say another word about this village. This is my home now.”

“Then I guess I have no choice.” Pein raised a palm again. Widening her eyes, Naome braced herself on the ground and held onto Kakashi’s body in her arms. With all the focus she could manage, her ice daggers remained suspended in place. If she could just withstand this one pull or push, she could finish him in seconds.

To her surprise, the enemy lowered his palm again. The solemn look still remained on his face as he stared down at her. “I changed my mind. I will keep you alive so that you can understand what I mean. You will see pain. You will see it for yourself and believe what I said once the world you know and love becomes nothing but rubble.”

“W-What are you talking about?” Naome stuttered. “What do you mean rubble? What are you trying to do?”

“You will see for yourself.” Pain turned to leave the vicinity, reflecting all the ice daggers that Naome had released away from him. 

“Pain wait...I know what happened to the Hidden Rain Village hurt you. And it probably hurt the people around you too, but destroying a whole village and other villages is not the answer here.” Naome tried to reason when all else failed. Her goal now, even if it wasn’t to defeat him, was to at least stall him otherwise. God Dammit, Naruto, where are you?

“Then give me a better answer. Give me an answer to all this pain and all this fighting.”

Naome watched the back of the shinobi who had suffered, just as much, or maybe even more than her. At least for her, she learned to love, and she found a place to call home, and a meaning to live.

“I don’t know….I don’t know how to stop all this fighting and all these wars. But what you’re doing right now...it’s just not right.”

“Neither is what they did.” 

With that, the shinobi disappeared. 

Taking a deep breath in momentary relief that she was no longer being stared down by the intimidating Rinnegan, Naome turned to Kakashi. She finally got a good glimpse of the man’s body before her as it slumped over. The permanent tense creases in his forehead were gone and for once, he looked at peace. 

She fell to her knees so that she was face to face with Kakashi. Pulling his mask down, her eyes desperately scanned his features through blurry eyes for any signs of life left in his body. Using her one good arm, she raised it caressing the side of his face and tracing her thumb along the scar. 

“Kakashi...wake up. Please….” Her breathing started getting heavy, and the world faded around her as her tears flowed. The aching in her chest was making it hard to breathe, and it overwhelmed her, so much so that she felt numb in all other parts of her body.

“Baby...please...come back to me. Come on.” She tapped the side of his face, trying to at least to get some kind of reaction.

It was all too surreal. He couldn’t be dead. He was Kakashi Hatake afterall. He always told her not to worry about him, to save herself. He was always strong, strong enough for the both of them. He was always the one to protect her. 

She was half expecting the body to disappear under her palm, as if it were another shadow clone. She expected to turn around, and Kakashi would once again appear from the rubble or the shadows and let her know that this was his plan all along, and that everything would be alright.

Desperately, she dug at the ground, releasing his body from the mound that surrounded it. Finally, she garnered as much strength as she could to pull his body into her lap. She watched as his chest no longer moved, his eyelids no longer fluttered, and the full weight of his body weighed heavily on her legs. 

This was it. She knew it then, Kakashi was gone.

Grabbing his body tightly in her arms, and burying her head in his chest as she always did before, she cried. She wept with loud enough cries that those who were nearby could probably hear her over the commotion in the village. She cried so hard that she could barely catch her breath in between. Her head pounded as she held the lifeless body in her arms. 

She thought about when they first met, the wink that he sent her. She remembered their first training days followed by all of the playful bantering that they had throughout their time together. Her memories replayed like a film of every mission they went on, every time he saved her, and lastly, every kiss and intimate moment they shared together. The last time he held her in his arms, it was so loving, so pure, and almost as if she finally understood him and finally saw the real Kakashi Hatake. Now...he was gone.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed with her out in the open, weeping over the passing of her lover. An enemy could have easily found her and finished her off. She knew she was in a much too vulnerable state to be breaking down emotionally in a large clearing. But alas, she didn’t care. Perhaps now wouldn’t be a bad time to die, afterall, it meant that she could follow after him. She shivered at her own dark and irresponsible thoughts, but she couldn’t help it. Grief overwhelmed her to the point where she couldn’t and didn’t want to move anymore. She just wanted to stay there and hold him.

She was vaguely aware of Tsunade’s white slug that had attached itself to her left shoulder and upper arm where it had been stabbed. The healing stung a bit, but Naome barely noticed. Her eyes laid emotionlessly on the man in front of her.

Shortly after, she felt another presence. This time, it was a warmth that surrounded her, holding her numb and shivering body. She leaned into the warm body as she continued to weep. She wanted to pull herself together, but she couldn’t. It hurt. Everything hurt. All she wanted was to be with him. She should have been dead, not him. Her screams of agony echoed in the air as her tears flowed and soaked the cloth next to her face. The whole world was lost to her now. She just wanted him...she just wanted Kakashi back.

\---

Shikamaru remembered the exact moment he heard the news. He had just managed to bring Kurenai-sensei to safety and joined his father and the Cryptanalysis Team, when he was joined by Tsunade’s summon, Katsuyu. 

He remembered fighting off some of the summoned beasts with wild purple eyes and finally being free when Katsuyu spoke up.

“Oh no…something is very wrong.” 

Shikamaru turned to the white slug. His usual nonchalant attitude was gone for the day. So now, he was more on edge than ever when the news hit. “

“Kakashi has been...he’s been...” Dread filled the pit of Shikamaru’s stomach when he heard the name. He was worried since the alarms sounded, of course, for the safety of Naome, but he knew that she was in good hands under Kakashi’s watch. Now that he heard Kakashi’s name being mentioned, he couldn’t help but grow more alert. 

“What is it Lady Katsuyu?! Please! I need to know!”

“Shikamaru...Kakashi, Naome, Choji, and Choza had engaged with two of the Peins. They took one down but the other….Kakashi has been killed by one of the Peins.” 

Shikamaru shot to his feet. “What about the others? What about Naome?”

“Choji and Choza have just been knocked unconscious. They will survive. Naome is grieving right now. She’s been injured in her left shoulder as well.” Katsuyu explained.

“I’m going to find her.” Shikamaru began running off, but his father called him back. 

“Shikamaru, you don’t know where the enemy could be. He could still be lurking around that area.” Shikaku said, “I am just as worried as you are, believe me, but you can’t just dash in there like that without a team.”

Shikamaru dropped his head and continued his steps forward. His hands were clenched into fists from fear of what could be there waiting for him, but he still had to go see her for himself. “I’m sorry dad, I’m going to find her. I promise you, I’ll bring her out alive. Both of us will come back home. So you worry about yourself.”

Before his father could protest, he ran off again, with a fragment of Katsuyu attached at his shoulder. 

It didn’t take long for him to find her in the giant clearing or fallen buildings. He had heard her screams from at least a kilometer away which made him hurt just knowing how she was suffering alone at that moment. He quickened his pace after that.

When he arrived, she was kneeling on the ground, hunched over Kakashi’s body. Shikamaru couldn’t see the entire body from afar, but the familiar silver hair of his sensei confirmed that it was indeed him. He dropped his head, giving himself a moment to mourn a strong shinobi, a great sensei, and even though he was his rival, a faithful comrade.

It wasn’t about himself though. He was there because he knew he had to be strong for both him and Naome, especially Naome. His heart shattered when he took in the distraught cries and whimpering coming from her. It hurt, not because the situation only confirmed how much Naome loved the jonin - that, he already knew - but because of the way his sensei’s death had broken her completely.

Shikamaru realized she was barely hanging on to her consciousness when he crouched down next to her. She hadn’t responded at all, not even flinching when he reached out and pulled her tired body into his torso. It took a moment, but she gave in, fully burying her face into his green vest as she cried her sorrows out. 

He held her securely, trying to hide tears of his own as each cry from Naome threw a dagger deeper into his heart. He had tried. He tried everything he could to protect her. Here he was now, holding her, as the village was under attack. He knew they were positioned irresponsibly. Everything in his logical mind told him he had to get out of here, but he couldn’t, not with the way she sunk into his body.

It took a few moments before he put his foot down. “Let’s go.” He told her. He repositioned to try to help him up, but she shook his head despite her half-conscious state.

“Kakashi...we can’t leave him here…”

He’s dead, he wanted to tell her. I care more about your safety. We can come back for his body later. But he didn’t have it in his heart to vocalize it out loud. He knew how hard it would be for her to come to the realization that Kakashi would be gone forever. At least it was for him to admit that Asuma was no longer here. 

A few more minutes, he told himself. A few more minutes for her to mourn and then I’ll take her away. 

“Shikamaru…” Lady Katsuyu said from Naome’s shoulder. She had been watching the scene unfolding the entire time in silence as reports filed into her head from events happening from around the village. “We need to get going. Pein has spoken to Lady Tsunade. She’s afraid he’s planning something. Everyone needs to evacuate.”

Shikamaru turned to look at his love in his arms. He gritted his teeth together knowing what he would be doing next. With one last final glance at his sensei’s body, he peeled Naome’s hands off of the jonin’s face one at a time. Her cries became heavier, when he forcibly pulled her away from the man. 

She wailed and thrashed when he pulled her body into his arms and stood up. Her fists meeting his chest in protest. “No...Kakashi...Let me see him!”

“I’m sorry,” Shikamaru mumbled one last time. He pulled her tighter against him and placed a kiss on each of her tear-filled eyelids. “I’m sorry. We have to go.”

With a heavy heart, he ran off to the outskirts of town without looking back. Along the way, her body fell limp in his arms as exhaustion finally overtook her. He had just barely made it out when a sudden earthquake shook the entire area around him. With wide eyes, he turned back to the epicenter: the village, only to see that the entire land had been flattened.

He forced himself to look away and keep going, for the safety of himself and Naome. If an enemy had followed them, both of them would be murdered. When he was finally convinced he had gone far enough, he collapsed to the ground and gripped her body as tight as possible. He was grateful that at least, she was still safe in his arms.

Grief overcame him when flashbacks came of the village. He focused on the now soft breathing of the girl in his arms as he listened to the news of what was happening and prayed for the wellbeing of all those in the village.


	29. Chapter 29

“Here. You should drink some water.” 

“Thank you Shikamaru.” 

The room was dim when Shikamaru entered. All was dark but a bedside lamp that was illuminating the space around them. He handed the cup of water to the silver-haired ninja and returned to his spot next to Kakashi, facing the bed where _she_ laid.

“It’s been two days already.” The jonin said as he continued watching over his student. Shikamaru eyed Kakashi, taking in his form. He looked as if he had been to hell and back for the past two days. Figuratively of course...and literally.

Shikamaru still remembered the shock on his face when the copycat ninja showed up on his doorstep the same evening he was pronounced dead. 

\---

_He hadn’t stuck around to the very end of the fight. He knew he had to find somewhere safe to bring Naome so that he could treat her wounds and get her rested. He told Katsuyu to return to the village where she could use what was left of Lady Hokage’s chakra to aid the other villagers there. Afterwards, he left towards the outskirts of the village where the Naras had their second family home inside their part of the woods. He knew his parents would also show up there once everything was over, or at least he’d hoped._

_That’s why, when there was a knock on the door in the evening, Shikamaru had fully expected it to be his parents. His soul left his body when he opened it to find Kakashi Hatake standing on the other side. “How….” he had whispered, because he was sure as hell that the jonin was dead in front of his very eyes._

_“Please tell me she’s here.” Kakashi begged. After Shikamaru was able to get past the fact that the dead was no longer dead, he was able to quickly analyze his teacher’s state. His breathing was quick and ragged, his body so weak that it looked like he would fall over at any moment. He was still in his battle uniform, with all the tears, cuts, dirt, and wounds that he had suffered, and the most jarring of all, his eyes, one of which was once bloody, now were red and filled to the brim with tears._

_“Shikamaru.” His sensei placed both his hands on his shoulders, snapping him out of his thinking. “Please. Please tell me she’s here with you. Please tell me she’s okay.”_

_“Yeah...come in.”_

\---

Kakashi was right. It had been two days already since the battle ended. The village was still in shambles, but everyone was working together to get it fixed. Shikamaru was busier than ever in trying to communicate with the other lands and villages about what had just happened so in some ways, he was relieved that Kakashi was able to watch over Naome daily at home. 

“You should get some rest.” Shikamaru replied. He didn’t know how Kakashi was doing it. As far as he knew, the older man had been up every hour of the past two day waiting for Naome to wake up. He, himself, was barely able to function with work, keeping an eye out for her, and surviving on 1 to 2 hour naps in between.

The older shinobi gave him a small smile beneath his mask. “You should too. Thank you for having me here.”

Shikamaru placed a palm at the back of his hand as he always did. “It’s not a big deal. Besides, your house is still being repaired, and my parents don’t seem to mind having you around either.”

“You’re right.” Kakashi’s eyes returned to the kunoichi in front of him. “My apartment is just about done. It hadn’t been hit hard so I should be able to return soon. Also, please tell your parents I said thank you. They must be wondering why I’m here….”

Shikamaru shrugged. “I doubt they’re thinking that deep into it. You’re her teacher, of course you would be worried.” 

He didn’t mean to take a jab at Kakashi’s relationship with Naome, but he realized how much it affected the jonin when he could visibly see him getting more depressed and silence ensued. In fact it was the opposite, the past two days had only confirmed how much the man truly cared for Naome.

Shikamaru kept mum for the next stretch of time, only looking at Naome who had yet to come to after the fight with Pein. The hospital had been destroyed during the invasion, so he was unable to bring her in for a check up. Sakura had visited and assured him that everything seemed alright and that Naome had passed out from a combination of loss of blood, exhaustion, and namely, shock.

Still though, two days had been longer than she had predicted and Shikamaru spent every hour of the day worrying and anticipating when she would awaken.

“Naome?”

Kakashi’s broken voice jolted Shikamaru from his thoughts. Shikamaru’s eyes widened and he stood up when he noticed Naome’s eyes began fluttering open. He made a move to grab her hand, but Kakashi had already already beat him to it.

“K-Ka-Kashi...Kakashi?” Noticing Naome struggling to move, Shikamaru quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her upright. She winced, suddenly aware of the pain in her left shoulder. She turned to him with grateful eyes and a faint smile, and leaned on his chest. “Thank you Shika.”

Kakashi had looked back and forth awkwardly between the two when Naome turned to him. She lifted her good arm and reached out to. “Kakashi, is that really you?”

He leaned forward in response, letting his cheek rest against the palm of her hand. He let out a sigh of relief as her fingers reacted, instinctively stroking his face lightly as she took in his presence in front of her. “Yeah. It’s me.”

“But how?” Naome’s eyes were awake now as she stared wide-eyed in wonder.

“It’s a long story.” Kakashi replied, “I’ll tell you everything when we have time. For now, you need to rest.”

“I need to rest? You need to rest! You were just...you...and I….wait…” The two men watched as Naome tried to piece everything together. She turned with a panicked look to Shikamaru. “If Kakashi’s dead...and I’m dead….Shikamaru! You’re not-”

Shikamaru let out a loud laughter at the thought process Naome was going through. Even Kakashi chuckled at her theory. 

“No. I’m not dead. Neither are you, or Kakashi-sensei.” He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the forehead, appreciating just how adorable Naome still was in his eyes. “Kakashi is right. You need to rest. Don’t worry, for the most part, everyone is safe. You just need to worry about yourself.”

It took a moment for Naome to consider what had happened, but then after that, tears sprung wildly in her eyes as she leapt forward to grab hold of Kakashi’s body in her arms.

“Oh thank God.” She repeated several times as she clung desperately to the silver-haired ninja. Her tears soaked his shirt as she cried in relief. “You’re still here. Thank God you’re okay.”

Shikamaru slowly let go of her as Kakashi supported her weakened body. Slowly, he backed away from the couple. He watched as the older man wrapped his arms tightly around her in response, some would even consider it suffocating to be held so closely. 

Naome fisted the fabric of Kakashi’s shirt in her hands as she spoke in anger and sorrow. “You made me promise to stay safe! You keep lecturing me about how I’m doing reckless things and how I’m always putting myself in danger. Look at you! You stupid hypocrite! Don’t you dare do that to me again. You hear me Kakashi Hatake?! Don’t you dare do that again!"

Kakashi only embraced her in silence. His own tears falling as he considered how close he had been to death and never seeing or holding her again. 

Shikamaru was numb as he stood further back, watching the scene with his own eyes. A small smile played on his lips now that he knew she was okay again. He was heartbroken and shattered beyond belief, but at the same time he was oddly happy that the two of them were reunited. 

"Don't ever leave me again." He heard Naome sob into Kakashi's arms. "Don't ever leave me again."

"I won't. Never again." Kakashi whispered.

Shikamaru took that as his sign to go. She would be happy now, and that's all that he could ask for. Quietly, he exited the room. Everything hurt. He wondered if he should have felt pity for himself, that the girl he once saved, housed, loved was now completely in love with another man. Yet in the end, he couldn't find it in himself to hate her. With every ounce of his body, he still loved Naome through and through, but even he knew when it was time to quit.

He’d lost.

\---

Naome was still woozy the next day when she got up in the morning. She had barely eaten anything the night prior, just a small amount of porridge that Yoshino had brought up because she needed to “settle” her stomach first. Her stomach was rumbling in protest and her body felt gross and in desperate need of a bath. A pounding headache ensued from the amount of crying she had done the day before, and her eyes were bloodshot. 

Getting out of bed, she went to wash up for the first time in three days. She cringed when she looked at herself in the mirror. The hair at the back of her head had been pressed up into a giant knot from lying down so much. The bags under her eyes were extremely noticeable, and her left shoulder had been wrapped intensively in gauze. Forcing herself to turn away, and trying to focus on the bright day ahead, she washed up and got ready.

“Good morning auntie, uncle,” Naome greeted as she entered the kitchen and dining area. The temporary housing was smaller than the original Nara residence, though still quite big compared to the apartments that were in the village. In the back of her mind, she had wondered how large and powerful the Nara clan actually was in the Hidden Leaf in order for them to have this much ownership over land and properties.

“Glad to see you up! Come! Have some breakfast!” Yoshino said from her spot at the table. With a familiar sense of warmth and family, Naome took a seat next to the couple and dug in.

“Where’s Shikamaru?” She asked. She remembered briefly seeing the male the evening before right when she woke up. She was hoping to see him again last night, or even in the morning, but alas, his room was empty when she peeked in.

“He went to work already, sweetheart.” Yoshino replied, putting more food on Naome’s plate. “He’s been quite busy since the village...well, you know.”

Naome dropped her head in shame. Kakashi had told her briefly about it the evening before, and he had promised to go into more detail once they met today. The entire time, she had only wished that she hadn’t been so weak and that she was conscious enough to help during this time of disaster.

“Oh…” Naome looked up at her uncle in particular. “Is there anything I can do to help? I’m not sure what my duties are at a time like this...Should I visit Lady Hokage?”

Shikaku sighed, “Lady Tsunade...she’s not doing too well right now. In fact, the council and I have a meeting later today to discuss our next steps as well. For now, you just rest up. There’s not much you can do with that injury of yours. I don’t want you to get hurt further.”

Succumbing to her uncle’s words she let out a heavy breath of disappointment. “Okay.”

With a soft smile, the man stood up and placed a warm hand on her good shoulder as he walked by. It was a gesture that radiated calmness throughout her body. “I’m just being a little overprotective,” he said with a wink, “In a day or two, alright?”

Giving into the Shikaku’s fatherly tone and expression, Naome returned a nod in agreement. Once Shikaku left, Naome quickly finished up her meal and began cleaning up as well.

“Going somewhere already? You’ve barely begun recovering.” Yoshino asked with a worried expression.

“I’m just going to take a small walk with Kakashi-sensei.” Naome replied. “He promised me he would bring me into the village today so that I could see what happened.”

Yoshino’s shoulders visibly relaxed at the sound of the jonin’s name. “Alright. I guess if you’re with Kakashi, I trust that he’ll keep you safe.” Her trust in the male had grown exponentially, especially after she saw how worried he was for Naome during the past few days.

“Don’t worry about me, auntie!” Naome called as she pulled on her shoes and slipped out the door.

To her surprise, she had only taken about two steps outside when she noticed Kakashi leaning on a tree across from her. He had his favourite book in his hand, but put it away as soon as he spotted her walk towards him.

“Hey! I didn’t know you would be picking me up today...or that you would be early.” Naome speculated as she approached him with a wide grin on her face. It had only been a few hours since she had last seen him, but having him there made her all the more ecstatic.

“Yeah.” A light blush tinted Kakashi’s face, and he had wondered what was wrong with him to be so shy all of a sudden. Perhaps it was the real intention to go on a proper date with someone he had genuine feelings for. “I thought you might need some help finding your way back to the village. We are in the middle of the woods afterall.”

Kakashi was right. As she looked around, she realized she was unfamiliar with the trees around her. It was on a piece of Nara land that she had never been to and she couldn’t really see the village through the thickness of the trees.

“Well, let’s go then!” Naome cheered as she hooked her arm around Kakashi’s. Taking a quick look at the kunoichi next to him, Kakashi led the way. A slight smile appeared on his face as he began to appreciate the fluttering he felt in his core.

The two walked arm in arm until they had reached the village where Naome detached herself and stepped forward in shock. “No…” Kakashi watched as water lined her eyes, her hands coming up to cover her mouth as she took in the damage around her. 

“How could anyone do this…” She didn’t need an answer to her question because she had remembered clearly the conversation she had with Pein. She wondered if he was really hurting that much that he could create this much chaos to a village unknown to him. Her heart hurt for him. She pitied him. She wished that he would have been able to live the life that she did, and find the love and support that she found. Maybe then things would have been different.

Kakashi walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “To be fair...he did redeem himself in a way.” It was almost as if the copycat ninja had read her mind. “Pein...he was the one that brought everyone back to life as well, at the cost of his own life. After what you and Naruto said to him, he had decided to trust in the future rather than continue the killing.”

“What…” It all seemed too surreal to Naome. Kakashi had explained it briefly the night before, but he didn’t go into detail as he didn’t want to overwhelm her. But even now, as she knew the truth, she couldn’t quite comprehend or imagine what had gone on. She only knew though, that she mourned the death of someone who lived the same life but suffered a different fate than her. She also knew, she was simply grateful that Kakashi was alive and with her now.

“Come.” Naome turned her head to the taller man as he took her hand in his. The way he was being so publicly affectionate was confusing to her. Wasn’t he afraid that they would get caught? The usual alertness seemed to evade him though as he smiled down at her, the most genuine smile she had seen from him ever.

“Let’s go,” he said. “I planned a little something for us.”

For us. Naome couldn’t help but let out a goofy grin as she allowed herself to be dragged off. She liked the sound of that.

\---

Kakashi led Naome to the top of the cliff where the hokages’ faces were carved. Further back, there was a line of trees that provided shade over a meadow where a large blanket was laid out, overlooking the rest of the village. 

“Wow Kakashi-sensei, I gotta admit…I didn’t think you had this in you.” Naome teased as she took a seat down on the blanket. Kakashi to her, had always been a one night stand or simplicity type of guy. Definitely not the romantic type.

“Well I don’t read all those romance books for nothing.” He too took a seat and pulled his mask down, relaxing next to the girl.

“What lies. You’re telling me those porn novels teach you how to be romantic?” Naome scoffed. “I doubt it.”

Kakashi leaned over so that his face was dangerously close to hers. A playful smirk donned on his lips as he witnessed a blush form almost instantly on her cheeks. “You’re right. This is my first time ever doing this, for anyone.”

“That’s hard to believe.” Naome murmured, her eyes diverting to anywhere but Kakashi’s own that were staring intensely at her. She couldn’t help but feel overly joyful at the idea though. She loved that of all the women that must have passed through Kakashi’s life, she was different.

“Well believe it.”He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. “I would never lie to you.”

Naome backed away a bit and took Kakashi’s hand in hers. She fiddled with his fingers as she thought about how to phrase her next request. Never had she been this nervous and intimate with the copycat ninja, at least not in public. Perhaps the change in atmosphere meant that things were going to progress from here.

“Kakashi…”

“Hm?” He had been looking at her with a small sense of concern ever since she distanced herself from him.

“Can you...can you tell me a little bit more about you? About your past?” When silence was returned, she quickly felt the need to explain herself. “I mean, you don’t have to. I just wanted to know more about you, you know. It doesn’t have to be anything serious. Just...like what’s your favourite colour? Your favourite food?”

Kakashi chuckled at the way his usually feisty student was now scrambling for words right in front of him. “My favourite colour is gray. Favourite food, well you know already, it’s miso with eggplant. And...well…”

Naome watched as he took a deep breath and used his free hand to brush a piece of stray hair out of her face. His fingertips lingered on her skin afterwards. “My past...that’s a long story.”

“We have time.” Naome found herself saying. 

“Just so you know...it’s not going to be a happy story.” Kakashi warned. His eyes reflected the pain and suffering as he recounted parts of his past.

“I still want to know.” Naome replied, her hands clasping Kakashi’s tighter. She was relieved that this time, it seemed that Kakashi would no longer pull away from her. “I want to know the good and the bad.”

“Okay.” Kakashi scanned Naome’s eyes briefly before he began. “Well, I grew up much like you. My mother died when I was at a young age and my father...he committed suicide not long after I entered the ninja academy.”

“Oh...I’m so sorry about that.” Naome’s eyebrows furrowed together. She knew to expect that Kakashi’s parents were no longer alive as he had never mentioned them, and she had never seen them before. But it was unexpected for her to hear about his father. “Do you know why he…”

“He was heavily criticized by the entire village. There was a very important mission which he failed in order to save his teammates. No one, not even his own comrades were happy with his decision.” Kakashi closed his eyes. His hand gripped a bit harder on hers in response to the pain that still haunted him today at the mention of his father. Anger, pain, loneliness...he still felt it all every time he thought back to it, but this time, he had someone to rely on as he opened himself up.

“I resented him at first.” Kakashi had never told anyone about this, not even his closest teammates or classmates. Not even his own sensei. “I resented him for leaving me all alone in this dark and scary world with so many expectations. But now I know why he did what he did. I understand why he would never abandon his comrades in battle.”

“It wasn’t that easy for me at first though.” Kakashi continued. A faint smile played on his lips. “Would you believe if I told you I was a prodigy?”

Naome rolled her eyes playfully at his self-indulging comment. “No...I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“I graduated from the academy with top marks when I was 5 years old. I made chunin when I was 6, and jonin when I was 12.” Naome was overwhelmed by a sense of pride for Kakashi when she heard about his history. She knew that he was talented, but never had she imagined he had advanced so fast at such a young age. By looking into his eyes though, she knew that something was missing.

“Ever since I was a chunin, I was placed on a team led by the future Fourth Hokage.” Kakashi smiled fondly at the mention of his sensei. “I was also teamed up with Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara.”

Naome noticeably flinched at the sound of the familiar name, almost as if she had been burned by fire. Kakashi had noticed. He had suspected all along, since they first kissed in the cave, that he must have slipped in mentioning Rin’s name in Naome’s presence. His heart ached, to hear his own voice speaking her name. The pain didn’t go unnoticed by the kunoichi.

“The day I became a jonin...we were sent on an A ranked mission. The three of us were separated from Minato-sensei and I was put in charge.” Kakashi’s eyes closed, his voice began trembling as he recounted his experience. “I screwed up. Rin was captured and I wanted to go ahead to finish the mission. Obito...he wouldn’t let me. He fought to save Rin. He fought to save me, to the point where when boulders fell, and rocks caved in on us, he died to have us go free.”

Kakashi opened his eyes. His hand shook as it moved upward to touch the scar that ran straight down past his eye, emphasizing the bright red colour of the Sharingan. “This...was his final gift to me before he died. Even though I did nothing to deserve it...he still considered me his friend.”

“It’s not your fault.” Naome brought her hand up to meet his underneath his red eye. Kakashi watched as she scanned his face with nothing but love and support. No judgement, no signs of disgust for what he had done. “It was his choice to save you. Besides, I’m more than positive you would never leave your teammates behind again. He would be happy to see that you’ve learned and you’ve grown.”

“That’s what I want to believe too.” Kakashi said. The pain reflected in his eyes seemed to run impossibly deeper as he braced himself for the remainder of his story. “But Obito...would never forgive me for what I’ve done, because you see...he loved Rin.”

“What happened...to Rin?” Naome regretted it almost instantly. She knew she should have bit back her words. She wanted to know, but she also didn’t want to know because a part of her feared that Rin would be that wall to separate her and Kakashi from moving forward. She was afraid to possibly hear that Kakashi still hadn’t gotten over her.

“Later, Rin was captured by ninja from the Hidden Mist village. They sealed a tailed beast inside of her, turning her into a Jinchuriki so that she could lose control and rampage once she was back in the Hidden Leaf Village. I fought off many Hidden Mist ninja to try to save her...I did.”

Naome grasped onto Kakashi as he began to quake as his memories became more real to him. It was almost impossible for him to continue because the following moment was so clear to him, almost as if it had just happened not a minute earlier. The nightmares he had fought all his life were now being retold in words.

“But then...I killed her. With my own hands.”

Naome’s blood ran cold as she heard Kakashi’s whispers escape his lips. Never had she expected that. Never had she expected Kakashi to kill someone clearly so dear to him, but for some reason, she wasn’t afraid as in fact, she inched closer to him. “You...didn’t…”

“I had my Chidori charged. I was prepared to strike an enemy and then suddenly, she was there. Her body, impaled right through by my forearm. I know she probably did it on purpose...but still...she died to my attack.” 

Naome wasn’t sure how to respond so she simply held him in her arms, hoping that at least that sense of comfort would help him through his emotions. It was also a sign, to show him that she wasn’t scared, rather she felt safe with him regardless. Also, it was a reassurance that she still loved him despite his past. Afterall, she was positive that being this vulnerable and open, was something entirely new to him.

After a long period of silence, in which Kakashi waited anxiously for Naome to reject him now that she knew the truth, Naome finally conjured up a response. 

“Rin...must have been important to you.”

“She was.” Kakashi confirmed with a small voice.

“Did you...did you like her?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Were you in love with her?”

“Yeah. I was.” 

Kakashi watched as Naome looked up to him with a wavering gaze. He could tell she was curious but at the same time, terrified to ask the next question, which he could anticipate from a mile away. It was okay though, because he came prepared to answer this question today.

“Do you still love her?”

“I-”

Kakashi was interrupted. He abruptly separated from the girl and pulled his mask up when a voice and presence entered the meadow. A chunin that he had recognized who worked for the council came walking towards the two, his eyes trained on the copycat ninja.

“Kakashi Hatake.” The male greeted him with a bow.

The ninja in question simply sent him a nod, not bothering to get up. “Is something the matter?”

“You have been summoned by the council elders. Please come with me.” The male began to walk away in the direction that he came.

Naome’s eyes widened at the sound of the words. Immediately she tried to recount in her memory what could possibly be of such high importance that the council elders would need to call Kakashi in. 

With a masked expression of shock himself, Kakashi sat up quickly. He leaned over and whispered a, “I’ll let you know later tonight, I promise” before he set off into the distance after the messenger ninja. After a few steps, he turned around one last time to send her a quick wink before walking off again.


	30. Chapter 30

Naome had lingered around in the meadow for the rest of the afternoon. Her thoughts wandered as she took alternating glances between the village and the clouds in the sky. Throughout the day, she thought about what Kakashi had told her. Finally, she could understand why he didn’t open himself up for the year that she had known him. She finally understood why after so many missions together, he placed a great importance on safety and protecting _her_ specifically.

The boulders, the nightmares, the night after her kidnapping, all of the things that happened between them that must have drawn horrific connections to his past. She wanted to apologize to him for it all, even though it wasn’t her fault.

She wondered how much pain Kakashi must have lived through, and how much pain he was still shouldering. Had he moved on from the past? Did he still blame himself? She figured he probably thought his past would scare her away, but in reality, it left her wanting to get to know him more. 

Still though, he did not have the time to answer her question. It would have been the one questioned she needed to hear before making her final decision. She sighed and leaned back, looking at the clouds more clearly now that the sun was starting to set. What was she thinking? Making her final decision, with so much uncertainty still? Her heart ached as she thought about the what ifs.

Shikamaru had done so much for her, meant so much to her, and been perfect just for her, but yet here she was, ready to break it off if Kakashi so said one word. She imagined the pain in Shikamaru’s eyes. She imagined how betrayed he would feel having saved her on multiple occasions and risked his own feelings so vulnerably so she could figure out her own. 

The longer she thought about it, the more she knew she had to do it. She loved him still, so so much, but at the same time, not enough. She decided she would tell him soon, but not today. Part of it was because he had been busy and stressed according to his parents, but another, more greater reason was because she was still a coward. So rather than returning home that evening and seeing the pain on Shikamaru’s face, she stayed in her spot and waited for Kakashi to come get her.

The sun had completely set by the time Kakashi had come around. He had a look of exhaustion on his face from hours of the council meeting, and a plastic bag full of take out in his hands.

“I can’t believe you still waited here for this long.” He said as he stood facing the kunoichi. “I thought you would have went back by now so I went to check, but Yoshino told me you hadn’t returned yet.”

Naome’s eyes widened, “oh shoot! I didn’t know I would be out so late! I didn’t tell her I wouldn’t be home for dinner.”

Kakashi winked playfully, “It’s okay, I told her. Come, let’s go back to my place. Your shoulder is still injured, you shouldn’t be lying on the hard ground for so long.”

It was when Kakashi turned around and walked away in front of her, rather than beside her, that Naome noticed a shift in his aura. She hoped desperately that it was simply a matter of fatigue or even her own overthinking rather than Kakashi distancing himself again as she followed after him.

\---

“Sorry, it’s very dirty in here. They just finished fixing up some parts of the apartment today.” Kakashi said as soon as he opened the door to his flat. 

As Kakashi began setting the food out on the table, Naome looked around and heartbreak ensued. It was the same as she had remembered it, yet so different. They were lucky that the building itself was still sound, but the window had been blown out. Kakashi’s usual tidy rooms were now full of dust and dirt from the re-construction. 

Naome could tell that Kakashi had tried to tidy up a bit between last night and this morning as there were some bowls and plates stacked on the counter. She figured they must have fallen out of the cabinets as the ground quaked during the battle. Luckily, Kakashi’s flat was just far enough away from the epicenter of the Pein’s push when he had flattened the entire village.

“It’s okay, I can help you tidy up after if you want.” Naome suggested as she took a seat in front of the meal. There was a small flutter in her chest from delight when she realized that Kakashi brought their usual favourites home, and even had her favourite dessert set on the table. “How did you know I liked these?”

Kakashi shrugged, “I might have asked Shikamaru some time ago.”

“Oh…” Her voice was a bit flat at the sound of the chunin’s name, but still a lingering smile stayed on her lips as she thought about how attentive Shikamaru always was, and how, unbeknownst to her, Kakashi also cared as well.

“Anyways,” Kakashi cleared his throat. “Dig in! I’m starving.”

As they ate, Naome noticed that Kakashi was taking small glances at her from time to time without really saying a word. For some reason, it didn’t seem like the usual casual looks, or flirty gestures, which made her feel a bit antsy. She decided to start a conversation instead.

“So...how did the council meeting go?” She tried to sound nonchalant about it, but her anxiousness shone through. “Was uncle Shikaku there? He told me this morning he would be going to an important meeting as well.”

“Yeah...he was.” Kakashi’s voice was a bit smaller than usual and lacking in enthusiasm. Perhaps, Naome thought, it was something more confidential.

“Were they asking for something in particular from you?” Naome asked.

Kakashi hesitated a bit before answering. “I think...you’ll know in time. It’s not something I can say right now.” The scowl on Naome’s face told him just how disappointed she was with the answer. He could understand why, afterall, after their morning date, he didn’t expect to ever hide anything from her again. Yet there he was, disappointing her and himself.

“I did get news that Lady Tsunade is okay now though.” Kakashi watched as Naome’s knitted eyebrows loosened up a bit from what little consolation the information posed.

“That’s good.” Naome said, “I like Lady Tsunade, she’s really nice. She has a tough job too. I’m glad she’s okay.”

“Yeah…” Kakashi quickly finished up his food and took a sip of water. “Anyways, let’s go rest on the couch for a bit.”

Naome watched as he stuffed all the garbage back into the plastic bag and made his way to the couch. He threw his headband and mask onto the coffee table before sinking back into the sofa, his head leaning back and eyes closed with an exhausted expression. He stayed like that for the briefest of seconds before restlessly moving into another position, this time leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and face in his palms.

Setting her chopsticks aside, Naome pushed her chair back and stood up. She had lost all her appetite from watching just how conflicted Kakashi was. Every cell in her body wanted to reach out and hold him, and comfort him in whatever he was going through. 

She approached the couch and stood in front of the broken ninja. Her heart ached as she reached out and touched her palm lightly against his cheek, causing him to look up at her with broken eyes. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked softly. She watched as Kakashi looked at her intently, almost as if he was memorizing every part of her. His gaze went from her eyes to her lips, down to where her hair flowed over her chest. He memorized her waist, the way it fit perfectly in his arms, before looking back up at her glistening eyes again.

“Come here.” His voice cracked slightly, almost as if he was begging her. He took her hands and pulled her towards him, allowing her to climb on top of him so that her knees were on either side of his legs. She sat comfortably in his lap as he now leaned his head up to meet her gaze.

“Kakashi,” the way she said his name still sent shivers down his spine. “Please, what’s wrong?” 

Without answering her question, he tilted his head so that their lips met. The kiss was tinted with a dark aura, one that made her feel the sadness and pain that Kakashi was feeling at the moment. Worry continued to flood her system about what exactly was going on.

Placing her hand on his chest, she gently separated their bodies. “Kakashi please, just tell me.”

Shock filled Naome as she noticed that she was witnessing Kakashi cry in front of her. Though barely, there were tears that glistened in the corners of his eyes, and a streak of one lonely tear that had fallen down his cheek.

Kakashi didn’t bother to wipe it away as he brought his hand up to caress the side of Naome’s face, and threaded his fingers through her long locks of hair.

“Please,” he begged, “Just...just be with me right now.”

“Of course,” she replied instinctively, afterall, when could she ever say no to the man in front of her. Leaning down, she lightly brushed a stray tear off his cheek before meeting his lips again. 

It was after a few moments, that Kakashi picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He carefully maneuvered his way to his bedroom. Turning the bedside lamp on, he set her on the bed and discarded his own shirt as he climbed over her.

The way Kakashi held her that night was different. He took every step slowly starting from the way he stripped them of their clothes. Every little touch, every little action, was done so delicately, it was as if he was afraid Naome would break like glass. Naome squirmed a bit, trembled even, under the lingering gaze Kakashi always had as she laid naked under his body. The intensity of it would have her covering herself out of embarrassment, but with a soft smile, Kakashi showered her with little butterfly kisses around her face and body until she would open up herself to him again.

There was no rush in his actions, rather, he ensured that she had been thoroughly satisfied with a cry of his name before he considered moving on. When he finally entered her, Naome let out a soft mewl of pleasure, relishing in the way that he felt inside her. Kakashi paused when he was fully sheathed inside, giving her a loving kiss on the lips.

When he finally decided to start moving, he continued to maintain eye contact with her. The look in his eyes screamed so much emotion that even a blind man could tell that he was deeply and thoroughly in love with her. Yet at the same time, he was hurting.

“Kakashi…” Naome whispered, her hands desperately clinging onto the man’s body. Kakashi too, leaned forward so that he could press his body against hers, his face buried in the crook of her neck.

“Naome, baby…” His lips at the base of her ear had her quivering under him. The next time he called out her name though, she knew that he began crying again as his voice cracked ever so slightly. Not knowing what to do any longer, she only held him closer in response.

Kakashi was desperate as he buried his lips against the crook of her neck. While he continued to rock at a slow but consistent pace, he considered how much he loved the girl under him. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to say it out loud so that the whole world would know, but alas he couldn’t.

Instead, as her breaths quickened and she called out his name again, he came in synchronized bursts with her. He didn’t let go, rather he relaxed in her arms and met her lips with soft and loving kisses. When his own high died down, he savoured an extra moment before he forced himself to get out of bed and walk out.

\---

Footsteps entered the room, and the bed shifted slightly as Kakashi sat on the edge of the bed, jarring her from her daze. She was still recovering from the high she just felt, from the experience they had shared together. He placed a glass of water on the side table, and as she sat up to take a sip, he waited anxiously. 

Eventually she got up quietly, taking his silence as a queue and began to get dressed, knowing fully well what the expectations were. _Nothing. This all means nothing._

She barely finished dressing herself when a quiet voice broke the silence. 

“We can’t keep doing this.” he said, as he held his face in his hands. “Naome, this needs to stop.”

She almost chuckled at his words. “That’s what you say but everytime-”

“No. This is the last time.” He paused, and she could feel her heart starting to shatter again. “This is the end.”

His voice was different this time. She gathered her belongings solemnly and almost raced to get out of the room. When she got out the front door, she paused for a brief moment, hoping he would change his mind, or say anything that would mean there’s a chance. This time, it was over for good. She ripped the door open and ran out of the apartment with tears already starting to stream down her face. 

She paused in the middle of the village. It was late, most of the stores were closed, and there was nowhere to go anymore. There was no one that knew, no one who would understand, no one but _him._

\---

Shikamaru couldn’t sleep. His eyes continued to track the shadow of his lamp light against the darkness of his walls. He had lost track of how many hours it had been since he was laying down in his bed, unmoving, but it wasn’t the first time as he had done the same thing the night before.

He couldn’t bear to face her last night, or in the morning. So instead, he escaped his house almost as soon as the sun had risen so that he wouldn’t have to relive the pain of seeing her so soon. Work was his excuse, it was his refuge. The more he indulged himself, the easier it was for him to forget, but alas, he had to come home eventually.

Tonight though, he was hyper aware of the fact that Naome wasn’t home yet, in fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t come home at all. Had it been a few months past, he would have probably been angry, frustrated, hurt, and any other emotion in between, but today, he was just numb. Afterall, what could he do? She was no longer his.

As he turned to his side and hugged a pillow to his chest, he wondered how he had come so far into depression. If anyone had told him a few years ago that he would be so obsessed and so in love with a girl, he would have scoffed and turned away. Now, it was almost like he didn’t know who he was anymore without her. With a sigh, he conceded, I should have never liked her. Girls are such a drag. But still, the corner of his lips would always quirk upwards as he thought fondly of the memories that they had shared.

Shikamaru was thrown from his thoughts when he heard the quick and loud thumps of footsteps entering the house and making its way up the stairs. He barely had time to sit up in response before his room door was swung open revealing a distraught Naome with her hair dishevelled and tears streaming from her eyes.

She paused in the entrance of his room as if she had just come to her senses and was figuring out her whereabouts. Her eyes scanned Shikamaru’s figure against the dim light before whispering, “I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have come in here…”

He was sure he would regret it the next morning. He was sure he would curse himself time and time again for caving in after he decided to let go. He would have his heart torn to pieces, and he would be up tomorrow night and the night after thinking about his actions. But all of his resolve went out the window as he approached the love of his life and pulled her body into his arms.

Once she was enveloped in his warmth, he could feel her fully breaking down, her body almost completely going limp as she leaned into him and cried her heart out. He tucked her head into his chest and gently soothed her through light strokes along her hair while his other arm wrapped itself securely around her.

He didn’t need to ask to find out what had gone on. He simply wondered how and why it happened, especially after what he saw the night before. He had trusted Kakashi to keep her safe. He had trusted him to never hurt her in such a way. Fury consumed him as he thought about just how hurt the kunoichi was because he had never seen her like this save for the day that Kakashi was murdered in front of her.

It took every ounce of self-control he could manage to not leave in that very moment to hunt down the silver-haired jonin. He was almost shaking from how upset he was that Naome had returned to him so broken and vulnerable, but his first priority wasn’t Kakashi Hatake, it was to take care of her. 

Closing his eyes, and relaxing his trembling breathing, he gave her a light kiss on the top of her head.

“Sh...I’m right here.”

\---

The next morning, Shikamaru was once again up and out of the house before Naome had awoken. This time though, he wasn’t headed to work, he was headed straight towards Kakashi Hatake’s apartment.

He had only been to the building a handful of times in his entire life, usually with Asuma and once with Naruto. Though it was many years ago, it was still easy for him to find amongst the many buildings that were torn down next to it.

“Hatake! Open up!” He banged on the door with a closed fist. It was uncharacteristic of him to be so intrusive and so angry, let alone calling a sensei so informally, but at this point, reason was beyond him.

When the door was pulled open to reveal the tall jonin, Shikamaru’s vision blurred. His fist swung instinctively toward the shinobi’s face, catching him square on the side of his jaw and snapping his head to the side. 

Instant regret flooded Shikamaru as he analyzed the situation. There was no way in hell that his punch was supposed to connect. Even if the copycat ninja didn’t see it coming, he had quick enough reflexes to dodge his attack entirely. It was then that he knew that Kakashi was intentionally letting him hit him. 

One more scan of the man’s face and Shikamaru knew just how much of a wreck Kakashi was in as well. That’s why he regretted it, he concluded, because he didn’t intend on hurting the jonin, especially now that he knew he was in the same condition as Naome herself.

“Shikamaru…” Kakashi finally spoke up. His gaze was lowered, barely looking at the enraged teenager in front of him. It would be a lie if he said he didn’t expect the boy to show up, in fact, he was surprised it took him that long. He had expected to be confronted with anger last night.

“Why did you do it?” Though Shikamaru was coming from a place of mild understanding, his voice was still shaking in anger as he spoke. “Why the hell did you do that to her?!”

“I had no choice.”

Shikamaru’s eyes narrowed. “Had no choice? Don’t mess with me Hatake. You always had a choice, _I_ was the one that was left with no choice. You promised me you wouldn’t hurt her, and I trusted you!”

Kakashi took Shikamaru’s words like a punching bag. It hurt, but he never denied it or defended himself against it. “You’re right. I did promise you, and I’m sorry. But please believe me when I say that I had no choice. It’s the best for her.”

“How is this the best for her?” Shikamaru’s voice growled in a low, menacing tone. “Do you know how happy you made her? Do you know how much she loved you?!”

The man dropped his head entirely, his voice barely there as he answered. “I know. I’ve always known.”

“Then why?”

Kakashi took a deep breath, his shoulders shaking before he looked up to meet Shikamaru’s questioning gaze again. “Yesterday...I was chosen to become the next hokage of our village.”

To say that Shikamaru felt inadequate before was an understatement to what he felt now. The love of his life was in love with the hokage. Shikamaru scoffed, “What kind of shitty ass reason is that? Is she not good enough for you now then, hokage-sama?”

“Please don’t call me that. I am not yet the hokage, Lady Tsunade has recovered, and I don’t want you to call me that in the future either.” Kakashi implored. “And you know that that’s not true. Naome’s way too good for me. Hokage or not, she deserves so much better than me.”

“Well it’s too bad isn’t it,” Shikamaru’s voice softened a bit, now tinted with more sarcasm and dark humour, “because even if she deserves more or deserves better, she only wants you.”

“You can’t be sure of that.” Kakashi was lying because even he wasn’t blind to her feelings, “she’s in love with you too.”

“Yeah. About the size of an ant hill compared to that of a mountain.” Shikamaru scoffed to hide the pain his own words inflicted.

“Even if that’s the case...you are better for her.” 

“What is that supposed to mean? Are you not the upcoming hokage?” 

Kakashi’s shoulders slumped and his expression fell. “I accepted the position of the hokage because our village needed it, but now, they won’t need me for a while. Not to mention, I can only protect her as the hokage so long as I’m not with her.”

“What is that-”

“Just trust me Shikamaru,” Kakashi’s eyes were clearly pained as he spoke to him, “I would never let her go if I had another choice. I didn’t just promise you, I promised her as well.”

There was a brief moment of silence before Kakashi continued, “Shikamaru, I have a messed up past with a lot of baggage, and you have everything that I don’t. You two have mutual friends, a family, and most of all, a loving home. Those are things I can’t provide for her. She’s never had that until now, and I can’t bear to imagine her without all those things in the future.”

With an unsatisfied huff, Shikamaru turned to walk away from the jonin. For the life of him, he still didn’t understand why. He didn’t understand what the copycat ninja could possibly be hiding, but he knew excuses were excuses and he wasn’t going to get an answer today.

“That’s bullshit,” Shikamaru snapped back. He took a quick pause in his steps to face the man one last time. “A home and family doesn’t just appear, it is built. I don’t know what you’re hiding, Kakashi, but if that’s your reason, then you’re nothing but a fucking coward.”


	31. Chapter 31

It took a week, a week before Shikamaru was finally able to convince Naome to leave the house and go for a walk. The entire time, she had isolated herself at home, only allowing Shikamaru into her life, and eating when she was told. Shikaku and Yoshino had been worried because of her change in demeanor, but the two younger ones hid it well, convincing the parents that Naome was simply recovering from the shock of the battle.

“You have work don’t you?” Naome asked as Shikamaru accompanied her for a walk around the village. 

“I took a day off.” Shikamaru replied with a shrug. “Besides, I did everything I needed to do. I’m just waiting for the other villages to reply.”

“Okay.” 

Entwining her fingers with Shikamaru’s she looked around her as they continued to stroll down the streets. The weather was nice outside, and the villagers seemed to be in a good mood as they collaborated to fix the town. Still though, a heaviness laid on her chest as she walked along.

“How’s your shoulder?” Shikamaru asked. His mother had helped Naome change the dressing on it everyday and it seemingly was improving, but still, it pained her to move it.

“It’s getting better. I can kind of lift it today.” She flinched as she demonstrated it to Shikamaru. “I just wish it would get better soon so that I can help around here. I guess I won’t be able to go on missions for a while.”

Shikamaru paused in his steps, causing Naome to come to a stop beside him as well. “Speaking of which…” he murmured, avoiding eye contact with the kunoichi. “Your team...you might not see them for a while.”

Naome raised an eyebrow at the sudden news. “Why is that? Are they going on a mission without me?”

“Yeah.” Shikamaru tucked his free hand in his pocket, “Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and captain Yamato are going to head out to talk to the other villages. Naruto wants to create an allied shinobi force to fight against the Akatsuki. After that, they’re going to escort Lady Tsunade to the Kage Summit. Altogether, it could take up to a month before they come back.”

“Oh...a month huh?” Naome wasn’t sure what she was more bummed about, the fact that her team was now going to move on without her, or the fact that his name was mentioned. She wondered if she should say something before he left. “When are they going?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Oh…” 

Shikamaru’s eyes scanned Naome’s desolate expression. The past few days he spent holding her, comforting her, and simply loving her. As he worked on her recovery, his own heart was mending itself gradually as well. He wondered if it was in his right place to encourage her to seek Kakashi, to find out the truth which neither of them knew. He wondered if he were to be selfless again this time, would he lose the last remaining hope he had to be with her?

“You should go see him.” Shikamaru murmured. He held his breath in anticipation for her answer. 

“No...I don’t want to.” To his surprise, the soft skin of her palm came up to meet his cheek. Almost instantly, he let out his breath and his shoulders relaxed again.

Naome wasn’t blind, she could see the way Shikamaru was hurting every day, even more so when he selflessly pushed her to see Kakashi. She didn’t want to visit Kakashi because she knew she was still not over him and she would still be hurting, and in addition, she didn’t want to hurt Shikamaru any longer.

“That’s a lie.” Shikamaru said as he brushed a strand of her hair back, “You do want to see him. You’re just scared. I won’t force you to, but know this, there’s always a chance that he might not come home from this mission. Would you be okay with that?”

The way that she hesitated and her breathing skipped a beat made it clear to him that she was not yet ready to let him go. Her dilemma was evident.

“Go see him.” Shikamaru urged her one last time. “I’ll be with you if you need me.”

It was then that he realized that without Naome finding closure, he too would never find closure for his feelings. Besides, he was convinced that Naome would be happier with Kakashi and that they were meant to be. If it meant he would sacrifice his own happiness, he would hope that she would be happier with him.

\---

Shikamaru was right. She did want to know. Kakashi owed her so many explanations, but apart from that, she couldn’t see him go off, not without a goodbye. After a long afternoon of walking around, she finally gathered the courage she needed to face Kakashi face to face. 

“I’ll be right here.” Shikamaru promised with a light kiss to Naome’s forehead. With a final tight hug, Naome stepped back.

“Thank you Shika.” 

As she walked slowly towards the jonin’s apartment, Shikamaru knew that the next hour or so would be torture for him as he waited desperately below to find out if she would leave him for good. He let out a pitiful chuckle at his own stupidity. Kakashi had delivered her straight back into his arms, and here he was, letting her go again. 

It had been a week since Naome was last at Kakashi’s apartment. In some people’s eyes it would seem like a short while, in her case, it felt like a lifetime. A lifetime of replaying Kakashi’s last words to her like a cursed mantra, and a lifetime of reliving the moment again and again each night she was dreaming.

As she stood in front of the door, she remembered standing outside for a few moments that night in the rain, hoping and begging that he would come after her and tell her he changed his mind. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, she remembered the distinct sound of the door slamming behind her and the click of the doorknob. 

Her hand barely made contact with the door, but she knew he had heard because there was the faint pattering of footsteps as he made his way toward her. Silence followed and Naome could already feel the tension through the plank of wood between them. It was enough to make her question why she had decided to come back in the first place if it meant getting hurt again.

The door opened.

“Naome…” 

It was worse than she imagined it would be. The sound of his voice had her drawn to him all over again and all she wanted was to be in his arms. Her hands were shaking and she was itching to reach forward to him.

“Kakashi…”

Taking a quick look around at their surroundings, Kakashi stepped aside and let the girl in. She stood in the middle of his kitchen as he walked over to lean against the countertop.

“I’m sorry.” Naome’s head snapped up to look at the man in front of her, surprised that he was the one to make the first move. Kakashi’s grip was firm on the countertop as he spoke. “I’m sorry that I ended things the way I did. I shouldn’t have...not like that...not after we did that…” _Not after what we had._

“...then why…” The way her voice whimpered quietly and almost fearfully was like a stab to his stomach. 

“Didn’t Shikamaru tell you?” Kakashi asked. Her eyes met his in tearful confusion. It was the first time he noticed the bags under her eyes, her sunken cheeks, and the overall exhaustion radiating off of her. He then chose instead to focus on the floor because he could no longer withstand the pain of witnessing the damage he had caused.

“I didn’t even know he talked to you.” Naome barely whispered. “I guess I should have figured.”

Kakashi ran his hand through his fallen, messy hair. He took a deep breath before continuing. “I have been chosen to become the next Hokage.” 

Naome staggered back a bit at the sudden news. It wasn’t that she didn’t expect Kakashi had the skills or experience to become Hokage, it was more surprising how sudden the news came to be. Even to this moment, she was still growing in awe at the man in front of her. With the offer of becoming Hokage in his mid 20s, how could she not be proud?

“You don’t look very excited about that.” She pointed out. The stress that came with the job seemed to already be weighing on him as his frown lines deepened and his haggard body slumped across from her.

“I don’t think you understand Naome,” he looked up at her, his dark brown and red irises piercing through her eyes. “Being Hokage means...we can’t be together. Not in this type of relationship.”

His gripped on the table tightened as he continued, “If the public eye is critical now, think about how it would be in the future if they knew what we were doing.”

“Then what’s wrong with a real relationship?” She was surprised by her own words, “I’m already 18. You won’t be my sensei for much longer. Can’t we just...try?” She was shocked by how desperately she still wanted Kakashi to be in her life, to be hers. For the briefest of moments, she was finally able to see their future together that day She still hoped for that future to come true.

Kakashi closed his eyes and replied without missing a beat. “Our feelings are not the same, Naome. I can’t have a future with you.”

Naome missed the way Kakashi’s knuckles turned white from how hard he was clenching his fist. She missed the way his jaw tightened and his body recoiled from his own words, because all she could hear was her ears ringing, and all she could feel was her world crashing down.

“You can’t mean after all this time…” 

He opened his eyes, his black and red irises meeting hers in an expression that she couldn’t read. “...I’m sorry. After all this time I...I can’t drag you along any further. I shouldn’t have in the first place.”

“Naome,” He paused because he didn’t know if he could do it. He didn’t know if he could get past the fact that her eyes were clearly beginning him to stop, but he couldn’t. “Naome...I’m still in love with Rin.”

Kakashi had half expected Naome to run out in tears again, as she had done many times whenever he had upset her or hurt her. He had hoped that she would come up to him and hurt him too, perhaps give him a good punch in the gut like he deserved. But he knew when she finally broke the silence that person in front of him was no longer the emotionally driven teenager that he had been introduced to, but rather a grown woman that he had fallen in love with. 

“I see.” Naome looked up at him with a soft smile accompanying his pain filled eyes. When she began to approach him, Kakashi almost flinched backwards, but the counter held him in place. When she reached him, her eyes fell and she took his hands gently in hers. 

“I’m sorry that I forced my feelings on you. To be honest...I knew there was someone else in your heart since the day that we were trapped in the cave, but I couldn’t help it.” With all the courage in the world, she looked up at him, reminding herself to keep it all together. “I wish she was here to tell you how amazing of a person you are. I wish she was here to keep you company because you deserve to be happy Kakashi.”

 _I am happy,_ he wanted to tell her, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak past the anguish that was weighing on him.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you before, and I almost lost the chance to tell you altogether so bear with me as I burden you one last time.” She looked up to him, tears finally springing in her eyes. “I love you Kakashi Hatake.”

It took every ounce of Kakashi’s willpower to not hold onto her as her fingers slipped from his hands. Every single moment of self-restraint was used to hold himself in place as she finally left his apartment for the last time and the door clicked behind her. 

He could hear her heartbroken sobs for only a few moments before they were replaced by his own cries of agony. He fell to his knees and buried his face in his own palms as he mourned the loss of his relationship with the one woman he had loved more than the entire world. He was all alone again in his apartment, and suddenly, the place felt too empty and too cold. She was his happiness, and now she was gone.

He wanted so badly to tell her the truth. He wanted to pull her into his arms and take every word back. He wanted to be with her and love her for the rest of his life, but in the end, he was doing it for her. He was doing it because he loved her.

As he choked on his own tears and gasped for air with laboured breaths, he curled into a ball on the ground. _I’m sorry dad,_ he thought, _I am a coward afterall._

\---

_When her voice finally faded away and he was surrounded by nothing by darkness, Kakashi realized he was most likely, finally going into the afterlife. In a normal circumstance, one would never consider what death would feel like at the ripe young age of 27, but to Kakashi, he had flirted with death so many times that he often dreamt about what it would be like to finally leave the world behind._

_A glow broke into the darkness, breaking his dream like state. Finding his footing, he approached the light, eager to find out what was on the other end. Finally, as it grew closer, he realized it was a fire with a familiar figure sitting next to it._

_“Kakashi, is that you?”_

_He was surprised that the man had recognized him in his body now. After all, it had been two decades since he had last laid eyes on him. “Father…So this is where you’ve been.”_

_Kakashi approached his father and sat next to him, eyeing the fire briefly before turning to the familiar man. With a small smile on his face, his father replied, “So...will you tell me your story?”_

_Relaxing in the presence of his old man, Kakashi let a small grin escape as well. “Sure, it’s a long one though.”_

_“Yeah that’s fine.” Maybe it was the loneliness growing up that made Kakashi less aware of his dad’s affection, but now, he could feel his warmth radiating off of him, encouraging him to open up._

_“Well...how to begin….”_

_“I graduated from the academy when I was 5 and I was placed under the care of Minato-sensei.” Kakashi said, a fond smile painted on his face as he thought back of the teacher that had brought light into his life of darkness after his father had passed._

_“Minato Namikaze huh?” Sakumo let out a soft chuckle, “That boy was something else. A pure genius at that. How is he now?”_

_Kakashi’s head dropped and his hands gripped his knees as he thought back to the day his teacher passed away. “Minato-sensei...he became the 4th Hokage. He and his wife Kushina had a baby boy. The day his son was born, Madara Uchiha took control of the nine-tails and massacred the village. Sensei died that day protecting his home and his son...I was supposed to be there, father. I was his wife’s body guard but he gave me the night off….I failed him.”_

_Sakumo eyed his son in pity, as he was starting to get a sense of the type of pain he had gone through. He had only wished he could have been there to support him through it all. “I’m sure Minato would never fault you for that.”_

_“But he would for many other things.” Kakashi dropped his head further, burying his face in his palms. “Minato-sensei always taught us to put comrades first, but in the end...my teammates died because of me. Obito Uchiha...he was such a childish fool, but still, he had such big dreams to become Hokage. Instead, he gave his life to save me during one of our missions and he gave me his Sharingan as well.”_

_His muffled voice was filled with more pain as he continued. “My other squad member...Rin.” He chuckled, “Father, she was my first crush. She was always so caring, so supportive, and quite strong as well. But she died to my own hands. She killed herself in my lightning attack so that she could keep the village safe after she was kidnapped.”_

_“I’ve failed so much father….” Sakumo’s heart tore as he watched his son break down and acknowledge his past. He kept on waiting silently, waiting for the point in which his story would turn for the better._

_“My son is not a failure.” Sakumo said, “You must have been young then, but you have grown. Tell me, what else have I missed for twenty odd years?”_

_Kakashi lifted his head. His eyes glimmered with a hint of pride and happiness as he thought back to his students. “I was part of the Anbu...and then I became a teacher to three knuckled-headed students. Naruto Uzumaki, the son of Minato-sensei and the nine-tail’s jinchuuriki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha, a prodigy like me, and one of two remaining members of the Uchihas.”_

_Shock overcame Sakumo at the news. A shiver ran down his spine as he tried to figure out who on Earth could possibly kill an entire clan of the Leaf’s best. “You mean to say the Uchiha clan is…”_

_Kakashi looked over at his father, a frown etched on his face. “A lot has happened since you passed, father. Itachi Uchiha, the other remaining Uchiha brother….he massacred his own clan. His entire clan. Still to this day, I don’t know how...but now, they’re both rogue ninjas. Sasuke, I couldn’t save him. He left the village to train with Orochimaru so that he could avenge his clan.”_

__Another instance of failure, _Kakashi thought. It wasn’t until he retold his story that he realized how much he had failed compared to how much he had accomplished. He chuckled darkly, in spite of himself. How was it that everyone around him praised him when he could do so little to save the people that mattered._

_“And now...the Akatsuki...a group of rogue ninjas. They’re trying to capture all the tailed beasts. Lord knows what they’re doing with it, but Naruto...I can’t even be there to protect him or to protect her…”_

_“Her?” Sakumo caught his son’s last whispered words. Finally, he saw a small light in Kakashi’s eyes as he thought about whichever woman he mentioned._

_“Yeah. Her name is Naome. She’s from the Hidden Village of the Rain.” Sakumo’s eyebrows furrowed at the mention of the village but he kept mum, knowing that times have probably changed._

_“I met her about a year ago. She was placed on my team as my student and squad member to replace Sasuke.” Kakashi explained. Unbeknownst to him, his entire body visibly relaxed and his frown lines gone, as he continued speaking about her. “I took her on as my pupil because I had never seen someone quite so eloquent as her.”_

_“You mean in terms of skills or…” His father teased. It was something new but welcomed by the both of them._

_Kakashi laughed, “Skills...personality...beauty...She went against everything I said. She put herself in danger on every mission, and she bickered with me day in and day out. She was bold, reckless, and much too young for me. She made the best food, and took care of me every day when I was injured. She hated it when I read my favourite novel, but the way she looked when she’s annoyed and pouting well...And you know what? We weren’t supposed to be together, but still…”_

_“Kakashi,” Finally, Kakashi broke his rambling and looked up at his father whose expression reflected a sense of love that he had missed. “Do you love this woman?”_

_To his own surprise, Kakashi didn’t even hesitate to answer. He simply stared longingly into the fire as he spoke. “I love her more than the world. More than my life. But I guess it doesn’t matter much now.”_

_“Is she the reason that you are here now?”_

_“I guess so,” Kakashi replied in realization, yet his soul seemed at peace. “The village was in danger. We were attacked by the leader of the Akatsuki, someone with the Rinnegan. I just hope that she’s safe now.”_

_“I see...so that’s your story huh.” Sakumo sent a reassuring smile to his son. “I’m sure both her and the village will be fine. We have a lot of strong shinobi in the Leaf. I’m just sad that you had also died so young...I was hoping I wouldn’t see you here until much later.”_

_“Speaking of which, dad, I always had a question for you…” Kakashi turned to his father. “I always wanted to know why you would decide to save your comrades and abandon the mission even though you knew the village would not look kindly on you.”_

_But before his father could respond, Kakashi let out a light laugh. “But I know now, just why you did it. I hated you at first you know...for leaving me all alone, but now, I just want you to know that I’m proud of you for what you did.”_

_It was as if a weight had been lifted off of Sakumo’s shoulders. He could finally breathe deeply again knowing that his only regret was leaving his son, but now, his son loved him nonetheless. “Thank you, son.”_

_Suddenly, a bright glow of a green light enveloped Kakashi from above. He lifted himself to his feet as he looked around frantically._

_“Don’t fret son.” Sakumo said, a wide smile now present on his face. “It looks like it is not yet your time here. Thank you for telling me your story...I think it’s now time for you to go and finish what you have not yet completed.”_

_“Dad…” Kakashi said as he tried to reach out to his father. It was as if he was suddenly five years old again, wanting to be in his father’s arms for the last time._

_“Promise me,” Sakumo said, “this time when you go back, you will tell that lovely girl how you feel about her so that you can live happily. Forget what the village says, forget what will come in the way. Promise me you will go back and tell her how much you love her. I don’t want to see you leave the world with regrets like you did now, and like I did before.”_

_“Yeah...I promise.” Kakashi felt himself being pulled away now and with a heavy heart, he said his final goodbyes. “Thank you, father.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the last one! Thank you for all your support thus far!


	32. Chapter 32

**3 Years Later**

The sun had barely risen and the clouds were hovering low in the sky in the morning when Shikamaru turned in his sleep. His arm found nothing but warm bed sheets next to him, making him rouse from his sleep. Looking up through sleepy eyes, he noticed her figure getting dressed next to the bed.

He rolled to his side and propped his head on his elbow, letting out an audible yawn as a lazy smile appeared on his face. “You’re up early.”

“Yeah,” Naome walked over to the man and leaned over to give him a quick kiss. As she backed away, Shikamaru stared shamelessly at her half dressed body. He almost groaned in protest as Naome pulled her shinobi clothing over her undergarments and slipped her vest on.

“I promised auntie I would help her with some errands.” Naome continued, not minding the eyes that trailed after her everywhere she went. “We’re going to go visit uncle in the afternoon if you want to join us after work.”

Shikamaru’s eyebrows furrowed and a frown etched on his face which went unseen by the girl. He rose from the bed and walked up to her to embrace her from behind. Leaning over, his lips brushed right next to her ear as he spoke. “When are you going to start calling them mom and dad?”

Naome felt him give her a kiss to the cheek before she turned around and faced him. She draped her arms over his shoulders and played with his dark locks between her fingers. A playful smile donned on her face, making the shinobi grin as well. “Tomorrow, when we finally get married,” she replied, giving Shikamaru a light kiss. 

Just as Shikamaru was about to lean in and deepen the kiss, she pulled away, leaving him with a deepened groan. Naome giggled and a smirk played on her lips as she grabbed her stuff and walked off. “I’m going to go now! Come find us later! Don’t be late to work!”

As she walked out the door to their new shared house, Shikamaru couldn’t help but stare after her with a puppy dog look in his eyes.  _ Tomorrow huh _ , he thought. His level of excitement prevented him from falling back asleep, so he decided to just get up and get ready. It would be another busy day at work, anyways.

After he finished getting ready and tossed his breakfast into his mouth, he made his way out the door to the Hokage’s office. It was a short walk away, a perk of moving into their new residence. This made the lazy ninja all the more spoiled, permitting him to leave the house at the very last minute if he wanted to.

During his short walk there, he stared up at the clear sky and the clouds above them and sighed. In three short years, everything had changed. To begin with, the 4th Great Ninja War had changed the dynamics of the world forever, but it had also changed his life forever. 

\---

_ Word of the ten-tails had reached the battlefield after over a day of tireless and endless fighting. Shikamaru turned to look at the girl running next to him, and the tense atmosphere suddenly became lighter. He noticed how the rain made her stray hairs stick to her face, the scuffs and dirt on her clothes and body matched the exhaustion the entire alliance had been feeling, but still, she remained focused and strong. He thanked the heavens that luck had it on his side, and that she was assigned to his company.  _

_ It wasn’t over though. His attention returned to the path in front of them as they neared the immense chakra. Occasionally, he could hear his father’s words in his mind as he gave orders from the headquarters. He chuckled as Inoichi gave an uncharacteristically motivating speech.  _

_ Everything seemed to be going well, and to be quite uplifting. By his father’s calculations, things should be wrapped up soon.  _

_ The entire company continued toward their coordinates when suddenly, he saw it. A large dark orb rocketed across the sky, back towards the direction he had come. Many people, including himself, had stopped in their tracks to watch the attack in horror.  _

_ “Shikamaru...that’s…” He heard Naome’s voice next to him, and then her eyes fell onto his still body. _

_ “No way...that’s the direction of HQ.” Ino’s voice whispered from his other side. Her eyes were wide opened, just as Shikamaru’s were.  _

_ He could feel his body go numb as he tried to think of every possibility of where the orb would be headed, but only one came to mind. He slammed his eyes, shut, a sense of hopelessness overcoming him before he felt a hand on the small of his back. Naome leaned her head on his upper arm as she too, shared his sorrows knowing what was to come. _

_ “Shikamaru...Ino...we don’t have much time.” Shikaku and Inoichi’s voice appeared in their minds again. Shikamaru gritted his teeth together in response. “I only have one strategy left so listen closely. First, start with Ino-Shika-Cho….” _

_ Shikaku relayed the plan of action to Ino and Shikamaru in hurried sentences, and all the while, Shikamaru could barely concentrate on his words. _

_ “What if it fails?” he asked his father after he had finished. _

_ “Then that’s when I pass the torch to you, son.” Shikamaru felt Naome rub his back as he flinched at his dad’s words. “You will be the next chief strategist after me. Lead the army from the battlefield.” _

_ Shikamaru’s eyes refocused as he carefully went through his dad’s plan in his mind. He was hurting, but he knew he would have to mourn later. He knew it was his time to step up. _

_ “Any last words Shikaku? We’re almost out of time.” Inoichi said in their small circle of consciousness. Shikaku hesitated for a second before responding. _

_ “Can you connect me with Naome too?” With confused eyes, Shikamaru turned to the girl next to him who was suddenly alert, her head lifted off his shoulder. Her mind space was now connected with theirs, and he was suddenly made aware of everything. Her thoughts, and her emotions. _

_ “Naome, Shikamaru…” Shikaku began. “There’s something important that you two need to know. I don’t have time to explain now, but it has to do with the day of the council meeting....” _

_ Both Shikamaru and Naome stood frozen at the sudden news. They hadn’t expected that situation to be brought up all of a sudden, especially since it had been a couple of months since either one of them had mentioned it amongst themselves.  _

_ “I’m sure  _ he _ will let you know more about it when the time comes.” With one last deep breath, he continued with his last request. “I know you have been through a lot, but I also know how much the two of you care for each other. Shikamaru, as your father, and Naome, as someone who hopes to be a father to you as well...If it is my last wish, please be with each other and take care of your mother for me. That is all I ask.” _

_ “Dad...that’s….” _

_ “Yes of course, father. I promise I will care for him for the rest of my life.” Naome replied with a small reassuring smile and tears lining her eyes. Shikamaru turned to the girl with wide eyes. There was the briefest amount of time where he was able to read the complete truth in her mind and her real emotions. Her hand squeezed his in reassurance before they were all forced into their own consciousness again, and Shikamaru knew he was gone. _

\---

They never mentioned the engagement again until the war was finished and they had returned home to face Shikamaru’s mother to break the news to her. Undoubtedly, Shikamaru had been hesitant at first. Even though their relationship had gotten gradually better after Naome had recovered from her break up with Kakashi, somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that the kunoichi still had a spot reserved in her heart for the older man. That, he realized he could never compete against. 

The last thing he wanted was to be caught in a marriage where she felt as if she was obligated to stay with him due to his father’s request. Time and time again though, he would come back to the short moment in time when he was able to read her mind in its entirety and feel her genuine love for him thanks to Inoichi’s mind space. And for each day afterward that he was able to wake up in her arms and see her smile and affection for him, he was healing. After almost three years since the end of the war, he was now certain that this was exactly what he wanted and what she wanted too.

Realizing he would be late if he didn’t stop daydreaming, he hurried to the Hokage’s office. He climbed to the top floor and let himself into the closed door. 

“Good morning, Shikamaru.” 

_ Curt as ever, _ the lazy, newly turned jonin, thought as he eyed the silver-haired man behind the desk. He simply mumbled a “good morning” in return before he sat at his own table in the corner. 

That was the other major change after the war. Tsunade had decided, rather quickly, to retire from her position as Hokage, leaving the seat open for Kakashi. In a moment of panic, Kakashi had no other person to turn to than Shikamaru as an advisor and second-hand man, or so Shikamaru would like to have believed. To this day, he still didn’t quite understand why the Hokage was so insistent on having him working under him, but he knew that the workload was a huge drag..

“You know, I already approved your day off for today and tomorrow.” Kakashi said with a smile that was a bit uncharacteristic of him. “I’m sure you have a lot to prepare for tomorrow.”

Shikamaru eyed the pile of papers that Kakashi had dumped on his desk. With a soft chuckle he shook his head and took a seat. He took a file off the top and began skimming it through. “If anything, I will leave early. I’m not going to lie Kakashi-sensei, you’re kind of hopeless without me, and I don’t want to see this pile grow any higher.”

Kakashi let out a light laughter as well, “Let’s just say I’m preparing you for keeping up with Naruto later.”

The two continued to work in silence until after noon. Shikamaru still had a lot of files stacked up and his to-do list had grown, but he had gotten all of the urgent things taken care of. After lunch, Kakashi had insisted that he should take the afternoon off to help Naome prepare. Shikamaru never missed the way a sense of pain flashed through Kakashi’s eyes whenever he said her name. Often times, the lazy genius would look away and ignore it.

Stretching, the jonin stood up and cleaned up his desk. Walking to the doorway, he turned to the man sitting behind the desk. “I guess I’ll head out now then,” he paused and placed both hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.” Kakashi replied with a strangled voice. He waved to his aide before staring back down at the paper in front of him. 

Once Shikamaru passed the closed doors, he took a deep breath. He knew he shouldn’t feel guilty about his relationship or his marriage, but often times, sensing the tension and feeling the sorrow radiating off the man made him wonder why they were in this position to begin with. Shaking his thoughts out of his head, he went off to find his fiance.

\---

Naome spent the morning running errands with Yoshino around town. Together they delivered some medicinal herbs from the Nara property to the hospital, bought a variety of groceries for a pre-wedding dinner, and confirmed all the arrangements for the next day. After all that was done, they went off to the cemetery where Shikaku’s gravestone was.

Setting fresh flowers on the ground next to his grave, Naome knelt on the grass in front of it and bowed her head respectfully.

“Uncle...Father,” to her surprise, the word rolled smoothly off her tongue, causing a soft smile to appear. “Tomorrow Shikamaru and I will be getting married. I know you will be watching over us. I just wanted to say...thank you for always watching over me too. Thank you for always having cared for me and supporting Shikamaru and I. I just...I wish you were here too.”

Naome felt an arm wrap around her shoulder, and at first, she thought it might have been Yoshino, but when the figure knelt on the ground next to her, she realized it was the warmth of her future husband. 

“Father,” Shikamaru said. “Thank you for always having been a great role model to me. I’ve grown up watching you from behind, and you taught me not only how to be a responsible shinobi, but also how to care for those who matter the most to me.”

Naome leaned closer to the man next to her, placing her head on his shoulder. Instinctively, his arms wrapped tighter around her. 

“Please bless us tomorrow. Continue to watch over us so that I can be a good husband to Naome. I love you dad.”

\---

Kakashi wondered what he was doing there as he looked around the meadow, though he supposed the worst of it was done now. He had gotten up early in the morning to walk around and clear his mind albeit unsuccessfully. Afterward, he went to get ready, dressed in his best attire to attend a wedding that he didn’t truly want to go to, but what was he supposed to do when the invitation had arrived by the hand of his aide, and he was almost obligated to attend as the Hokage.

Of course, when it came down to it, it was his decision and he chose to still attend. He must have been a masochist, he figured, to have wanted to sit there and watch the love of his life get married and vow her life to another man. 

He remembered her crying tears of joy during the ceremony as she retold the story of how Shikamaru was responsible for giving her this new life, and how she swore she would care for him and love him ‘till death. She stated with absolute certainty how she couldn’t wait to start a family with him and grow old together. He watched intently as Shikamaru looked at her so lovingly and promised to be by her side for the rest of his life, and to protect her no matter the circumstances, which Kakashi knew would be true.

Kakashi scorned himself because he knew he could have and should have been in that position, but he wasn’t. When the ceremony was over, and Naome was officially Shikamaru’s, cheers erupted around him and he took the chance to sneak away for some fresh air.

Now, he was simply standing in the clearing, waiting for the reception to start as he tried to avoid friends and family of the groom who wanted to greet the Hokage. He had never gotten used to the title, even after two years because it felt unbefitting for him as someone who didn’t particularly want to take responsibility. That’s why, without a second thought, he had chosen Shikamaru to be his right hand because he knew that apart from his father, he was the most logical, and most capable to help him run the village. Still, it hurt him every day to look the man in the face when he entered the room, knowing that the love of his life was now his. 

“Kakashi…”the sound of his name snapped him from his thoughts as he looked up at the groom who had approached him. From the corner of his eyes he could see Naome speaking with some of their peers. “Thank you for coming.”

“Congratulations.” Kakashi replied, smiling through his mask. He tried, he really tried to be genuine in front of him, but he could tell by Shikamaru’s blank eyes that he hadn’t been successful.

“Thank you,” Shikamaru replied nonetheless. “I promise you, I’ll take good care of her.”

“I know you will.” Kakashi said. The familiar scene repeated itself in real time, only this time, it was the opposite. 

“Did you love her?” Kakashi was thrown for a loop at Shikamaru’s question. He hadn’t expected the jonin to be so bold, but then again, it seemed that as the boy grew older, he was beginning to develop more confidence similar to that of his father.

“Yes...I did.” There was no use in hiding it anymore, the Hokage figured. He had already come to terms with his feelings a couple of years ago, and he figured, at least Shikamaru deserved to know.

“Do you still love her?” This time, Shikamaru’s voice was a bit more tentative. 

Closing his eyes, Kakashi balled his hands into fists, because he knew the truth, and the truth hurt.  “Yeah... I do.”

Both men let the words sink in, in silence. Kakashi knew it was inappropriate of him to bring up his own feelings during the other’s wedding, but once asked, he couldn’t hide it any longer.

“My father...before he passed, he had mentioned the council meeting from three years back. He told us you would let us know when the time was right.” Shikamaru paused, daring himself to look up at the top ranked shinobi. “I know you wouldn’t have given her up without reason, and I don’t think I can move on without knowing. What happened that day? Why did you break up with her?”

Kakashi hesitated for the longest time because it was a secret that he held onto for so long. It wasn’t for his sake, but it was a secret he had to keep in order to protect Naome. He figured now though, if he wanted to truly protect her, the least he could do was let her husband know.

“Back then...after Pein attacked, the council elders wanted to investigate the Hidden Rain Village. To this day, they still do not trust people from that village because of their fear of the unknown. They didn’t know yet, who Naome was, and where she was from, but I knew that if word got out that Naome and I were together, they would investigate her, especially after I became Hokage. Once they found out her background, they would accuse her of being a spy, torture her for information, information that she wouldn’t have, and then they would kick her out. I would have broken the law for keeping a war criminal, and I wouldn’t be able to protect her. She would lose everything.”

Kakashi shut his eyes in pain, as he thought back to the day. The day was supposed to go very differently. He was supposed to tell her that he loved her, and that he wanted to pursue a lifelong relationship with her. But the same day he was chosen for the position of 6th Hokage, the council had decided to declare all Hidden Rain shinobi as criminals. He remembered the way he froze in place, and the way Shikaku’s jaw had clenched impossibly tight. By the end of the long meeting, Kakashi accepted his position so that in the future, he could keep protecting her despite his own pain.

“Fuck those old hags and their old-styled thinking.” Shikamaru cursed with furrowed brows. “You’re telling me they’re still after her to this day?”

“Less so now, because we are in a time of peace. But as you know Shikamaru, there’s still a lot of political turmoil in the Hidden Rain Village because of how small and unstable they are. They might rise up again at any point to oppose the allied nations.” Kakashi shook his head, “who could blame them? Their land has been torn to pieces throughout decades by our wars and all we do is continue to oppress them.”

“Who knows about this?” Shikamaru asked, a sudden sense of urgency overcame him as he fought to protect his now wife. “Also, how many people know about her?”

“Luckily, only your family, Lady Tsunade, Shizune, myself, and any of your peers that you have told know about her background. Tsunade made sure to have it removed from the village’s database as soon as she heard about it.” Kakashi raised a hand to pat the younger’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it Shikamaru. I will do everything in my power to protect her from my position. Who knows, maybe times will change and their ideals will change too. Besides, today is your wedding day. Enjoy it. Now is not the time to worry about this stuff.”

“Worry about what stuff? You boys aren’t discussing work things again during the wedding of all times, are you?!” Naome’s voice startled them as she now steps away. 

Kakashi’s breath was knocked out of him as he took in the beauty of the girl - no, woman in front of him. It hurt a lot worse now that he was up close. He had to prevent himself from clutching his chest in pain.

”Well?” Naome asked in annoyance as the two men only continued to stare at her with starstruck eyes. 

“Nothing,” Shikamaru eventually replied. 

“Shikamaru’s just worried about your wedding night.” He winked at her, leaving the two younger ones blushing at his blatant lie. “He’s asking me for some advice, because...well,” he raised a hand and rushed her cheek lightly, “you know.”

Being completely flustered by Kakashi’s sudden playful and teasing mood, Naome’s face lit up bright red. They hadn’t spoken in such a casual manner ever since their relationship together ended, but still, being able to see this side of him again, with the tension eased, gave her a warm feeling in her chest. 

She swatted his hand away, now faking a scowl. “Get your perverted hands off me old man. Besides, when are you going to get yourself a girlfriend? You’re not getting any younger, you know?”

With a light laugh, Kakashi turned away and waved off the couple, “That’s what I was about to do! Why else do I attend weddings?”

Pausing for a second, he turned to Shikamaru one last time, “You take good care of her, Shikamaru. Or else, you never know who might be there to take her away.”

Shikamaru scoffed and purposely leaned down to kiss his bride on the lips just to peeve the man. With a chuckle, Kakashi congratulated them for the last time. He glanced at the way she looked at Shikamaru with endearing eyes, before leaving. A pained smile donned on his face as he walked away.

**1 Year Later**

Naome let out a breath of relief as she finally caught a glimpse of the village gate ahead. She had been away from Konoha for about two months this time and she very desperately wanted to just go home, wash up, and head straight to bed next to her loving husband. She chuckled at her own thoughts, thinking just how much Shikamaru had worn off on her in the past few years.

Unfortunately, duty called which meant she had to go report back in at the Hokage's quarters before she could consider relaxing. She quickly made her way down the familiar streets and past all of her favourite restaurants. Pausing for a moment, she considered getting her favourite Dango on the way there, but alas, her sleep deprivation called out to her.

She arrived at the Hokage's office and knocked on the door. Her heart fluttered slightly at the sound of the man's familiar voice ushering her in. A slight flutter, she figured, was still miles better than before.

She pulled the door open and bowed upon entering. "Reporting back from my mission, Lord Hokage."

Kakashi's eyes shot up from his papers to stare at the girl in front of him. He couldn't help but have a wide grin upon seeing her, and in a very unhokage-like manner, he excitedly returned the greeting. "You're back!"

Naome chuckled, no matter how much the man aged, sometimes he would still act like a child in front of her. "Yes I am, Hokage-sama."

A frown etched in Kakashi's face. "For the millionth time, I told you not to call me that." 

"Lord Hokage Sir?"

"No!"

"Then?" Naome quirked an eyebrow before a smirk became visible on her face. "Kakashi- _ sensei?" _

A growl escaped Kakashi's lips as he was reminded of her indecent ways in the past. He knew that she was purposely teasing him, and he appreciated the fact that they were still...them. Their constant bickering had returned and to the Hokage's surprise, this friendship they had was working. 

That didn't mean he didn't want her still though. Day in, and day out, he still loved her though she had clearly moved on and had been perfectly faithful to Shikamaru. He accepted and appreciated her friendship, it meant that he no longer had to feel alone, but at the same time, he often had to remind himself to suppress his true feelings.

"Anyways," the man changed the topic, "how was your mission this time around?"

Naome's face lit up. "It went great! The third orphanage is now opened and all of the children in the Hidden Rain are off the streets now, I think. It’s a bit difficult gathering enough food for everyone there, but with the contributions from the different villages, things seem to be looking better. I may need to return with Sakura in a month or two to distribute medical supplies and train staff.”

Kakashi spaced out and looked at the young woman with absolute pride as she rambled on about what she had been doing in the past two months. The one who had seemed so lost before, was suddenly making huge contributions in not only the Hidden Leaf but in other villages as well.

After the war, Naome had become extra passionate about helping children who had been orphaned because their parents had died in the line of duty. She began with opening an orphanage in Konoha which Tsunade, who had been in charge at that time, had gladly funded. Ever since then, she had been leaving for weeks to months at a time to build orphanages in other smaller communities, and most recently, the Hidden Rain Village.

It was difficult at first to gather the support of the other Great Nations to help fund the orphanage in the Hidden Rain, but thanks to the help of Shikamaru, the new Kages were content in helping. 

In fact, it wasn’t the other villages now who were giving Kakashi a hard time, but rather his own council elders. They had thrown a fit when they found out Kakashi had endorsed funding to help citizens in the Hidden Rain. In fact, they wondered why Kakashi was so intent in helping the enemy. It took him and Shikamaru, and even the interference of a retired Tsunade, to get the folks off his back. The issue was a constant work in progress, but seeing the way it made Naome smile, made him realize it was worth it. Perhaps the girl would change the world one day.

“Kakashi? Earth to Kakashi.” Naome waved his hands in front of the man’s face. Clearing his throat, Kakashi composed himself.

“Well...anything else to add?” He asked, even though he had missed most of her report, “If not, I think you should head home and get some rest. Shikamaru’s probably waiting for you at home.”

“Are you trying to kick me out?” Naome said with a pout. 

“Why yes, in fact I am.” Kakashi leaned back in his chair, and put both legs up against the table. “I have some business to attend to.”

Naome scoffed, “What business? It’s night time already.”

Reaching into the top drawer of his desk, he pulled out a tattered copy of Makeout Tactics. “This business. Now leave the old man to his  _ personal  _ business would you?”

Shaking her head with light laughter, Naome turned to leave. “Get a girlfriend would you? Otherwise you’ll be stuck with that book forever.”

“We’ll see.” Kakashi brushed off the topic as he always did. He tried to hide the pain in his voice. “Have a good night.”

“Goodnight.” Naome replied. Just as her hand reached the handle to the door, Kakashi’s voice called her back again.

“Naome…”

Turning around, she faced the man with a puzzled look. “Yeah?”

“I…” Kakashi paused and took his feet off the desk, setting the book aside. Leaning forward, he faced the kunoichi with a look of sincerity. “I will always care for you, you know?”

Naome’s features changed into a gentle smile. Kakashi thought he must have been seeing things when he read the look of longing in her eyes. “Yeah I know. And I will always care for you too.”

When she finally stepped out of the office and the door clicked closed behind her, Kakashi’s head dropped. He had been hurting during the entire exchange. The idea was that time was supposed to make things easier, and in some ways it did, but it never changed the way he felt about her. 

Every time he watched her walk out his door, all he wanted to do was hold her and tell her that he loved her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter! Thank you for reading and for all the support!


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